LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



Shelf Ml:: 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



HANDBOOK 



OF 



GRAMMAR AND ANALYSIS. 



BY 



JAMES E. VOSE. 



ASHBURNHAM, MASS. 

Published by the Author. 
1880. 






COPYRIGHT, 

By James E. Vose, 
1880. 



J. S. Cushing, Printer, 75 Milk St., Boston. 



PREFACE. 



EVERY man thinks his own way the best; 
hence every schoolmaster writes a gram- 
mar. Aside from this general conceit, there are 
three reasons for this little book, which may all 
be put in one, — that the writer had need of it, 
and so wrote it. 

i. Our text-books now-a-days mostly go on 
the principle that teachers do not know their 
business ; hence they are so filled with " expla- 
nations," " illustrations,'' and the rest, that the 
poor pupil cannot tell the lumber from the sub- 
ject proper, and too often gets it all lumber alike. 
What the teacher wants is a pretty full outline of 
his subject, to be added to or subtracted from as 
particular classes require, — the dry bones of the 
matter, to be clothed in flesh and blood and vivi- 
fied by his own skill in the class-room. 

2. Since the improved methods of language- 

3 



4 PREFACE. 

teaching are now pretty generally adopted in the 
lower schools, our higher text-books should be di- 
vested of their "exercises for writing/' blanks to 
fill, etc., etc., and give themselves more exclusively 
to the science of grammar, leaving written work 
under careful teaching to take the more difficult 
form of the theme. This technical grammar can 
only be profitably begun at about the age when 
the student is prepared to enter geometry. It is 
severe work and requires some maturity of mind; 
yet, when principles are clearly stated, the student 
should be able to illustrate them from his general 
reading, and apply them in his writing, without 
having everything ready at hand in his book. 

3. The unwise pressure for short courses and 
early graduation compels the clipping of our text- 
books to the utmost. For such work, "notes," 
"remarks," and hair-splitting "analysis," must go, 
— perhaps not greatly to our loss ; but, unfortu- 
nately, that slow and painstaking study which alone 
gives discipline must go too. Whether it is pos- 
sible to construct a book that can be made by 
clipping to " do " the short cuts, and, at the same 
time, give a good foundation for the future study 



PREFACE. 5 

of those who wish it, may be a question. This 
work makes the attempt, but presupposes a teacher. 
The book has come so far short of the writer's 
idea, that he hardly hopes much approval from 
others ; yet a few extra copies have been printed, 
chiefly for the benefit of the criticisms, adverse or 
otherwise, of those who may receive them. 

Cushing Academy, Jan. i, 1880. 



Note. — Classes having little time should, after a few 
preliminary definitions, begin at page 59 and go through to 
Part V., Prosody, omitting Analysis mainly (pp. 108-124), 
if thought best. Part I., Orthoepy, is only a summary of 
what should have been learned piecemeal in the lower 
schools : teachers would do well to master it thoroughly. 
The principles of syllabication (p. 22), of spelling (p. 26), 
and of punctuation (p. 15 1), are eminently practical, and 
deserve much more attention than they usually receive. To 
those who aspire to much knowledge of our language, Deri- 
vation (pp. 31-58) is of the very first importance ; it may 
be taken up as indicated in the note, p. 41. The real student 
of English poetry must also master Prosody (p. 164) and 
Figures (p. 171). 

6 



Handbook of English Grammae. 



i. Language* is the expression of thought. 
(a) Spoken language is the vocal expression of 
thought, {b) Written language is the written ( = 
printed) expression of thought. 

[(V) The language of signs, of the emotions, of flow- 
ers,! etc.] 

2. Grammar* is the science % and art of lan- 
guage. English Grammar is the science and art 
of the English language. The general divisions 
of Grammar are: I. Orthoepy; II. Orthography; 
III. Etymology ; IV. Syntax; V. Prosody. 

[Rhetoric,* the art of language. — Comparative Gram- 
mar,! Philology.f] 

* Bring in on paper, or write on the blackboard, the 
derivations of all terms used. Thus : — 

Language. — O. Eng. and Fr., langage ; Lat, lingua, 
the tongue, speech, etc. 

Grammar. — Fr., grammaire ; Gr., ypa^a, a letter. 

t Meanings of these expressions ? 

% What is science ? — Art ? — What, as applied to gram- 
mar ? 

Note. — As indicated above, etymologies and meanings of terms em- 
ployed, and an intelligent looking-up of all the more difficult points should 
be insisted on throughout. These will not be further indicated in this 
book, as the teacher is the only one who knows the proper work to pre- 
sent in any gives case. 

7 



ORTHOEPY. 



I. — ORTHOEPY. 



3. Orthoepy treats of the sounds and pro- 
nunciation of a language. It is divided into (A) 
Articulation ; (£) Syllabication ; (C) Accent 

(A) Articulation. 

4. Articulation is the utterance of elementary 
sounds. [Note another meaning : the greater or 
less closure of the vocal organs * to utter any given 
sound; as the articulation required to produce b 9 
p, m y by the lips.] 

5. An Elementary Sound cannot be decom- 
posed into simpler sounds. It may be : (a) a vowel 
sound ; (b) a, consonant sound. 

6. (a) A Vowel Sound is a sound uninter- 
rupted by the vocal organs ; or, it is a pure tone. 
Divisions : (c) Simple ; \_(d) Compound, .] 

7. (V) A Simple Vowel Sound has a single 
sound. (The articulating organs (4, note) move 

, but slightly or not at all during its utterance.) Two 
divisions : — 

(1) Long, having a prolonged sound, — e, a, a, 
e, q, q, — six in all. 

* Vocal Organs. — Those by which voice is produced: 
the larynx, pharynx, mouth, tongue, nasal passages, and, in 
a less degree, the trachea, diaphragm, and lungs. (See 
Soule and Wheeler's Manual of English Pronunciation^) 



ARTICULATION. — VOWEL SOUNDS. 9 

(2) Short, having an abrupt sound, — 1, e, a, a, 
u, o, q, — seven in all. 

[8.] (d) A Compound Vowel Sound has 
two simple sounds closely united. (The articulat- 
ing organs move perceptibly during its utterance.) 
The compounds are, a, o, 1, ow, oi, u (in tzme, not 
in zmit) . They are not elementary, but are intro- 
duced here for convenience of learning and classi- 
fication. 

[9.] By slowly pronouncing these compounds, the two 
components of each may be readily distinguished, thus : 
i = a-e, ow—a-q y oi = q-e, u = e-o. Such is the general 
teaching. Perhaps as good a scheme would be : 1 = a-i, 
ow = a-g, oi — a-i, u — i-g. Different writers give the fol- 
lowing: i = a-e, d-i, e-e, a-i ; ow = d-q, a-g, a-g* u-q, a-q; 
oi= q-e, a-i ; u — e-q, i-q, y-q. Pronounce these pairs, first 
slowly, then in rapid union, and see which produces the true 
sound. 

[10,] The sounds a and o are composed of two 
parts each, the radical and the vanish; a vanishes 
into ^ or i, o into o or g. Pronounce slowly till the 
components are recognized. Pronounce without 
the vanish in payer, tone, etc., and note the foreign 
sound, pere, etc. When unaccented these often lose 
their vanish, as in preface, tobacco. 

n. (I?) A Consonant Sound is a sound or 
breathing more or less interrupted by the vocal 

* Worcester. 



IO ORTHOEPY. 

organs ; or, it is an articulated sound or breathing. 
It may be, according to sound, either (m) an aspi- 
rate, or {n) a vocal; and, according to place of 
articulation, either {w) a labial, (x) a dental, {y) 
a palatal, or {z) a guttural. The terms labio-dental 
and dentopalatal are often used. 

12. {lit) An Aspirate is a consonant sound 
not vocalized (voiced) ; or, it is a mere articulated 
breathing. There are ten aspirates: wh {whew), 
p,f, th {thin), t, s, ch, sh, k, h. 

{n) A Vocal is a consonant sound vocalized in 
the throat. The vocals are : — 

(i) Pure, when the voice is confined to the 
throat : b,v, tk {thine), d, z, j, zh, g {go), — eight 
in all. 

(2) Nasal, when the voice is emitted through 
the nose : m, n, ng, — three in all. 

(3) Liquid, when the voice is emitted through 
the open mouth : w {we), I, y, r x (Van), r 2 (far), — 
five in all. 

13. {w) A Labial is articulated by the lips: 
wh, w,p, b, m,f, v, — seven in all. 

{x) A Dental is articulated against the teeth : 
th, th, t, d, n, I, s, z, — eight in all. 

{y) A Palatal is articulated against the hard 
palate : ch,j, sh, zh, y, r ly — six in all. 

{z) A Guttural is articulated by or near the soft 
palate : k, g, ng, r % {h), — five in all. 



ARTICULATION. — VOWEL SOUNDS. II 

The terms labio-dental, dento-palatal^ etc., explain 
themselves. 

14. Cognates are different sounds produced at 
the same articulation (or nearly so) of the vocal 
organs (4, note). 

Thus, the articulation for e gives 1 when the sound is 
abruptly exploded. So the radical part of a and e are cog- 
nate ; also a and 0; e and u (nearly) ; /and v; t, d t n, 
and /. Note slight changes of articulation in most so-called 
cognates. 

For a more extended and very accurate presentation of this subject, 
the little Manual of Eiiglish Pronunciation, by Soule and Wheeler, 
is the best book to be had. Prof. W. D. Whitney treats the matter 
more thoroughly, but less practically, in his Oriental and Lingtiistic 
Studies, Second Series, and in his Life and Growth of Language . 

Writers vary extremely in their names of the sounds, though they 
may agree in the sounds themselves. Prof. Whitney calls aspirates and 
vocals, respectively, "surds" and "sonants." A good classification of 
the vowel sounds, vocals, and aspirates, is into " vocals," " subvocals," 
and " aspirates "; another common one is into "tonics," " subtonics," 
and " atonies." The " mutes " of the grammars are /, b, t, d, k, g ; the 
others are then called " semi-vowels." The " liquids " of the same writers 
are /, m, n, r. Sounds articulated by the special aid of the tongue are 
called " Unguals": th, ih, t, d, n, I, s, z. But the tongue plays a hardly 
less important part in most other sounds. The hissing sounds, s, z, sk, 
zh, ch,j, (x), are often called " sibilants." 

15. The foregoing classification is indicated to the eye 
in the following table, in which the cognates stand in hori- 
zontal lines. 



12 ORTHOEPY. 

Table I. — Elementary Sounds. 



VOWEL SOUNDS. 


CONSONANT SOUNDS. 


SIMPLE. 




ASPI- 
RATE. 


1 


/OCAL. 










Li- 
quid. 

w 


Long. 


Short. 






Pure. 


Nasal. 


e 


l 


r 


zvh 






(a) 


e 


Labial . . .J 


P 


b 


m 




d 


a 


(Labio-Dental) [ 


f 


V 






a 


a' 












„, 




f 


th 


th 








u 


Dental . . J 


{', 


d 


ft 


J 


a 



* 


(Dento-Palatal) ( 


z 









g 


f 


ch 


J 






6 


7 


Palatal . . .4 
Guttural . . . -< 


sh 
k 


zh 
g 


ng 


y 

^2 


[compound.] 


_ _ 


h 








a, o, — 2. 












1, ow, oi, ii, — 4. 




10 


8 


3 


5 



To learn this table : — 

(a) Learn downward the column of long vowel sounds 
(a and included for convenience) ; then the short sounds 
can be produced by merely exploding these (remembering 
that they are not all exact cognates). 

(3) Learn the column of aspirates, and the vocals can be 
recalled by remembering the cognates. 

(c) Learn the compound vowels. 

* See (17). 



PHONIC ANALYSIS. 13 

1 6. Note the natural order of the table. Beginning with 
e 9 the narrowest position of the vocal organs, lips farthest 
back, the column of vowel sounds opens out to 0, lips farthest 
forward. The consonant sounds begin at the front point of 
articulation with this sound articulated, wh, w, and move 
backward to the i-sound. {H is an exception, as may be 
seen in he, ha, ha.) Careful attention should be paid to the 
position of the organs at which each sound is produced. A 
brief study and drill of this character will enable a class to 
give even the more difficult foreign sounds, as may be seen 
by trying Ger. Ich, Fr. u, Arabic kh, Welsh //. See, also, the 
very important use of these principles in any elementary 
work on phonography. 

17. Including the radical parts of a and 0, but 
excluding the other compounds, there are thus 
forty-one elementary sounds. Orthoepists agree 
that has no short cognate ; certainly one is often 
heard in New England in whole, only, coal, coll, etc. 
This would give forty-two sounds besides the four 
compounds. That there are several others readily 
distinguishable may be seen from the note to Table 
II. It is well to have ears sufficiently educated to 
detect them. 

18. Phonic Analysis is the separation of words 
into their elementary sounds. The student should 
drill on this till the sounds of a word can be given 
as readily as the spelling. Pronounce the word 
naturally, then more slowly, till the exact sound is 
obtained. (See 34.) 



14 ORTHOEPY. 

Form I. — Phonic Analysis. 

Ear, e-r 2 ;* e* a simple vowel sound, long; r 2 * a vocal 
consonant sound, guttural. 

Fancy, f-a-n-s-i ;* f* an aspirate consonant sound, la- 
bial ; <?,* a simple vowel sound, short ; n,* a vocal conso- 
nant sound, nasal, dental ; s* an aspirate consonant sound, 
dental ; *,* a simple vowel sound, short. 

Boy, b-oi ; b, a pure vocal consonant sound, labial ; oz, 
a compound vowel sound, composed of the two sounds a-l. 
(The terms labio-dental, etc., may be used.) 

(B) Syllabication. 

19. Syllabication is the division of words into 
syllables ; or, it is the union of sounds into groups 
called syllables. 

20. A Syllable is a sound or a group of sounds 
uttered at a single impulse of the voice. 

An Initial Syllable begins a word. 

An Ultimate Syllable ends a word. 

A Penult is the syllable before the ultimate. 

An Antepenult is the syllable before the penult. 

21. A Word is a syllable or a union of syllables 
expressing an idea ; or, it is a sound or a union of 
sounds expressing an idea. 

A Monosyllable is a word of one syllable. 
A Dissyllable is a word of two syllables. 
A Trisyllable is a word of three syllables. 

* Give the sounds only. 



SYLLABI CATI ON. — ACCENT. 1 5 

A Polysyllable is a word of more than three 
syllables. 

22. The principles of syllabication can be better 
treated farther on (see 35). It may be noted here, 
that : — 

(a) Every syllable must contain at least one vowel 
sound, — rarely the sound of n or / alone, as in 
ev-en, shov-<?/, or with other consonant sounds, as 
in pax-don, hum-frld'st. 

(0) Two vowel sounds (except compounds) can- 
not come together in the same syllable. 

\c) The aspirates precede the vocals at the be- 
ginning of a syllable, and follow at the close ; as, 
shiiink, strength. 

(C) Accent. 

' 23. Accent is a stronger utterance of one or 
more syllables of a word, in distinction from the 
rest. 

(a) Primary Accent is the principal accent of 
a word, marked ( 7 ); as, ac'cent (n.), ac-cent' (v.). 

(&) Secondary Accent is a lighter accent often 
laid on every second syllable from the primary, 
marked in Webster hy a lighter stroke ('); as, dem'- 
on-stra f tion. 

The strokes ('') are called accents. 

[Study the Rules for Accent in the dictionaries.] 



TOPICAL REVIEW. 



Language. 

(a) Spoken. 

(J?) Written. 

(V) [Of signs, etc.] 



Grammar. 

English Grammar. 
Subdivisions. 

I., II., III., IV., V. 
[Rhetoric. Comparative 
Grammar, Philology.] 



I. — ORTHOEPY. 



(A) Articulation. 

Elementary Sounds. 
(a) Vowel Sounds. 
(<:) Simple. 
(i) Long. 
(2) Short. 
(d) [Compound.] 
Analysis of. 
(J?) Consonant Sounds. 
(m) Aspirate. 
(ji) Vocal. 

(1) Pure. 

(2) *Nasal. 

(3) Liquid, 
or, (w) Labial. 

(Labio-Dental.) 
(x) Dental. 

(Dento-Palatal.) 
O) Palatal. 
(z) Guttural. 



Cognates. 
Other modes of classifica- 
tion. 
Table I. — Elementary 
Sounds. 
Written and explained. 
Number of Elementary 
Sounds. 

(B) Syllabication. 
A Syllable. 

Initial, Ultimate, Penult, 
Antepenult. 
A Word. 

Monosyllable, Dissylla- 
ble, Trisyllable, Poly- 
syllable. 

(C) Accent. 
(a) Primary. 
(<£) Secondary. 
Rules of Accent. 

16 



ORTHOGRAPHY, — LETTERS. 1 7 



It— ORTHOGRAPHY. 

24. Orthography treats of (A) Letters; (B) 
Syllabication; (C) Spelling. 

In a loose sense, orthography is synonymous with spell- 
ing ; as, His orthography is bad. 

{A) Letters. 

25. A Letter is a character used to represent 
one or more elementary sounds. The twenty-six 
letters are divided into Vowels and Consonants. 

26. A Vowel is a letter representing a vowel 
sound (6). The vowels are a, e, i, o, u, and also 
w and y after another letter (sounded) in the same 
syllable, or y alone forming a syllable. 

27. A Consonant is a letter representing a 
consonant sound (n). The consonants are the 
nineteen other letters, and w and y before a vowel 
in the same syllable. 

/in spam'el, ruff/an, u in q«it, are essentially consonants; 
as are, also, the initial parts of a in cognac, in one, and 
u in «se. 

28. A Diphthong is the union of two vowels in one 
syllable : (a) proper, when both vowels are sounded (only 
in compounds), as in how; (Jfr) improper, when only one 
vowel is sounded, as in p<zzd. A Triphthong is the union 



1 8 ORTHOGRAPHY. 

of three vowels in one syllable, as in beau, \ieu. A Digraph 
is the union of two letters to represent one sound ; as, wh, 
th, ch, sh, and all improper diphthongs. A Compound 
Consonant represents two sounds ; as, x = ks, gz, or ksh. 

29. (a) Capitals are letters distinguishable 
from the lower-case letters of which the body of 
a page is printed, by their larger size and different 
form. Small capitals are indicated in writing by 
two lines underscored, large capitals by three. Capi- 
tals are used for the words I and O, and as the first 
letter of, — * 

1. All proper names or words used as such. 

2. The first word of a sentence. 

3. Every line of poetry. 

4. The chief words in headings, titles, etc. 

5. Other specially important words (rarely). 

6. Abbreviations (generally). 

7. Names personified. 

8. All pronouns relating to the Deity (according to some 
authorities, but of doubtful propriety). 

9. Every direct quotation; also other similar expressions 
(as laws, resolves, etc.) preceded by some introductory word 
(as, " resolved," " be it enacted "). 

Headings and other words meant to be specially notice- 
able are often printed entirely in capitals. 

(b) Italics are the inclined letters. They are 
indicated by one line underscored. Italics are 
employed : — 

1. For emphatic or illustrative words. 

2. For foreign words. 



SOUNDS.— DIACRITICAL MARKS. 1 9 

3. In the Bible, for words not in the original. 

4. For the titles of books, periodicals, writings, etc., re- 
ferred to ; and the name of an author after a passage quoted. 

Young composers should be very sparing in the use of 
the underscore. 

For various styles of letters, read Art. Type in Webster's Dictionary, 
or Art. Printing in Johnson's Cyclopaedia. This book is printed in 
" Old Style " type, — Long Primer, Brevier, and Nonpareil. 

30. As to the number of sounds that any letter may rep- 
resent, authorities differ greatly. It is a matter of fact which 
each student must decide for himself. The old teaching, 
"a has four sounds, e has two sounds," has, fortunately, 
pretty much disappeared. The following table (II.) exhib- 
its to the eye all the important sounds, with the diacritical 
marks used in Webster's Dictionary and most school-books. 
Students should commit it verbatim, and drill themselves in 
applying the marks to words till they make no mistakes. 

Table II. — Sounds and Diacritical Marks. 

31. Sounds of the vowels : — 

A, eight sounds : fate, fare, {at, far, fast, fall, wan, any. 

E, six sounds : ^ve, ^re, 211, ^ight, <Trr, pretty. 

I, five sounds: mine, mint, nwen, mirth, (um'on). 

O, nine sounds: time, t<?rch, top, ton, to, wo\{, work, women, 

(one). 
00 in woo, wood. 
U, nine sounds: pure, pztr\, pun, prude, pu\\, bz/ry, busy, 

(use, quick). 
Y, three sounds : my, myth, myrrh. 
OW, OI, unmarked. 

No note is made of the o before r, intermediate between o and 0, which 
a few speakers have attempted to introduce, since, though a nice sound, 
its use is not likely to prevail. We have sounds enough already without 
attempting any new ones. 



20 ORTHOGRAPHY. 

32. Sounds of the consonants : — 
One sound : b, k, I, m, p, q, v, w, y, (Ji) . 

Two sounds : d, decked; f, fee, of; j, Just, hallelu/ah ; r. 
roar. 

Three sounds : g, get, gem, xowge ; n, no, thi??k, ca/lon ; /, 
ha^, nation, transi/ion ; z, zone, asure, 
chints. 

Four sounds : c, cz.x\, city, suffice, o<:ean; s, so, his, jure, pleas- 
ure ; x, box, xebec, exist, noxious. 
Of consonant digraphs, the principal are : — 

Three sounds: ph, Stephen, phxa.se, diphthoxig (Worcester); 
th, thin, this, thyme. 

Four sounds : ch, cheap, chaise, chasm, which ; gh, jerkin, 
hiccou^, \ax\gh, \o\xgh. 

For diacritical marks for the consonants, see Webster's Dictionary. 

Note. — Many of these sounds, especially of the vowels, 
are variously modified ; as, a in cognac, menace, \o\ea, ixiax\ 
e in predict, harmVt, bri^r ; i in abih'ty, rum, elixir ; in 
tobacco, g^ne, stupor, err^r ; u in txeasuxe, sulphur ; y in 
occupy, pity, martyr. 

33. It is often convenient to refer to a sound by name. 
The sound a is called "long a"; a, "a long before r"; a, 
" short a "/ a, " Italian a "/ a, " intermediate a " (between 
a and a *) ; a, " broad a "/ a, " a like short "/ e, " long e"; 
L " e long before r"; e, " short e n ; e_, " e like long a"; e, 
"e obtuse," or "e natural"; 1, "long/"/ 1, "short i n ; 'i, 
"i like long e"; I, "obtuse"; 0, "long"; 6, "like broad 
a"; 0, "short"; 0, "like u short"; 00, " 00 long"; 00, "00 

* This " intermediate a " is one of the nicest sounds in the language, 
and great care should be taken with it. The a of last, past, mass, fast, 
etc., is not the a of can nor oifar. Drill till such words are pronounced 
correctly. 



NAMES OF SOUNDS. — PHONIC ANALYSIS. 21 

short"; u, "long" (the consonant-vowel u, heard at the 
beginning of syllables — i/se, disunite — has the same mark 
and name); ^"natural"; u, "short"; u, "like do"; y, 
"long"; y, "short." Worcester terms "obscure" certain 
unaccented sounds closely resembling each other ; as, fri<zr, 
brkr, pritfr, sulphur, zephyr. The £-sound is the commonest 
in the language ; and a, e, i are the common sounds and 
names of those letters respectively in the European lan- 
guages. 

Of the consonants, c is termed " hard " in can, " soft " in 
rity (and generally before e, i, y) ; g is " hard " in get, 
"soft" in ^em (generally before e, i, y), "French g" in 
rou^-e ; ch is " soft " or " sharp " in chat, " hard " in chasm, 
" French ch " in chaise ; h is the " Spanish n " in ca/zon ; 
r t is the initial "trilled r" but the trill should never be 
made noticeable; r 2 , " smooth r," is getting obsolete in New 
England, as seen in far, horse, four, and the like, so often 
pronounced fah, Haiti's, fouh. 

34. Phonic Analysis may now be completed. (See 18.) 

Form 2. — Phonic Analysis. 

Fade is a monosyllable composed of three sounds, 
f-a-a 7 * The first sound, f* is an aspirate consonant sound, 
labial (labio-dental), represented by the consonant f The 
second sound, a,* is a compound vowel sound, called " long 
a," composed of the radical a* and the vanish e* or t,* and 
represented by the vowel a. D * is a pure, vocal, consonant 
sound, represented by the letter d. E is silent. 

Valedictory is a polysyllable composed of five syllables; 
primary accent on the antepenult, die, secondary on the 
initial, val. The first syllable, val, is composed of three 
sounds, v-a-l* etc., as in fade. So with each syllable. 

* Give the sound only, with great care on radical and vanish. 



22 v ORTHOGRAPHY. 

Note. — Those who think this is too much time to give 
to one's A-B-C's should read from Prof. W. D. Whitney, 
of Yale, the leading philologist of America, if not of the 
world : "He who cannot take to pieces his own native utter- 
ance, and give a tolerably accurate account of every item in 
it, lacks the true foundation on which everything else should 
repose P 

See list of words for practice, (36). 

(B) Syllabication. 

35. Syllabication is the division of words into 
syllables (19). A syllable (see 20). A word (21). 
There are two general modes of syllabication : — 

(a) The Phonic, which divides a word accord- 
ing to its pronunciation ; as, proph-et, ge-og-ra-phy, 
the-ol-o-gy. 

(b) The Etymological, which divides a word 
according to its derivation ; as, prophet, ge-o- 
graph-y, the-o4a-gy. The former method is mostly 
used in American works, the latter in English. 

This important matter of syllabication is almost ignored in our schools, 
and yet there is hardly a letter written but requires some knowledge of?it. 

Principles of wSyllabication. 

1. Compound words should be divided into the 
simple words composing them ; as, apple-tree (not 
apple- tree) , no-body. 

2. Affixes and inflectional endings should be 



PRINCIPLES OF SYLLABICATION. 23 

separated from the root of the word to which they 
belong; as, trans-rnit,frisk-y,find-er. 

Exception. — When this rule would lead to mispro- 
nunciation, the phonic method may be used; as, hin-der, 
hind-er ; and (doubtful) words like fra-mer, ri-der, — better 
fram-er, rid-er, etc. 

3. Two vowels coming together and not forming 
a diphthong must be separated ; as, a-orta. 

This musUbe done, also, within the line, when the first 
vowel ends a prefix and the second begins a root ; as, co- 
operate, fore-ordain. Or sometimes a diaeresis may be placed 
over the second vowel; cooperate. (Similarly, aorta, aerial?) 

See Soule and Wheeler, 223, 224. 

4. (a) When two or more consonants that can 
begin a syllable come between two vowels, the first 
of which is long, they are joined to the second, 
unless it begins a suffix ; as, fa-ble, be-stride. 

(b) But if the consonants cannot begin a syllable, 
or the preceding vowel is short, they must be sepa- 
rated ; as, an-gel, ban-ner, pet-rify, fer-tile, cam-bric. 

5. A consonant, or a consonant digraph, between 
two vowels, is joined : — 

{a) To the first, when that is accented and short ; 
as, hab-it, viv-id, oth-er. 

(b) To the second, when the first is not short, or 
when the second or neither is accented ; as, fe-ver, 
du-ty, fa- the r, aside, 

6. The terminations -cean, -cian, -tial, -ceous, 



24 ORTHOGRAPHY. 

-cious, -geous, -tious, -sion, -Hon, and similar ones, 
must not be divided ; as, o-cean. 

7. A word must not be divided when its mean- 
ing or pronunciation might be mistaken ; as, acid, 
miry, docile. 

8. A word should be divided at the end of a line 
only by its syllables. This rule is continually broken 
by young composers. 

36. Syllabicate the following words, and apply 
diacritical marks and accents. 

Note. — In writing such lists on blackboard or paper in columns, only- 
proper nouns and proper adjectives should be capitalized. For examples,, 
see any spelling-book or reader. 

Accent (n.,v.),* access, acclimate, acorn, address, ^Eneid, 
aerie, algebra, almond, amenable, apotheosis, Appalachian, 
apparatus, apricot, Arab, archipelago, area, aroma, Asia, 
aspirant, association, asthma, august (a., n.),* avaunt, (daunt, 
gaunt, and the rest,) axiom, badinage, baths, paths (any 
others?), behemoth, benzine, Bergen, blouse, Boleyn, bom- 
bast, bouquet, Buddhism, canine, Caribbean, caricature,! 
Caucasian, cement (n., v.), centenary, Chaldeans, J charta, 
Chicago, Chinese, Christianity, cleanly (adj., adv.), column, 
comparable, compensate, II conversely, coquetry, costume, 
covetous, crouch, cupola, curator, currant, § dahlia, defalca- 

* Give other words, changing accent in this way. State the general 
principle. 

| What is the pronunciation of the terminations -ttire, -dure, -sure ? 
Give examples. 

% What Biblical names have ch soft ? Latin or Greek names ? 

|| How does Webster accent words of this class ? Worcester? Ex 
amples. 

§ Rule for u in such cases. Examples. 



WORDS FOR SYLLABICATION. 25 

tion, depot, design, desist, dessert, detestation, diphtheria, 
diphthong, diploma, disdain, dishonest, diverse (adj., adv.), 
ducat, eclat, Eden, effort, encore, envelope, equable, equa- 
tion, exaggerate,* excise, exhibit, exponent, February, finance, 
florin, fortnight, frontier, frontispiece, fuchsia, gasometer, 
genius (spirit), gerund, gladiolus, granary, grease (v.), grind- 
stone, groat, guano, Guyot, heather, hereof, herewith, hiber- 
nate, hirsute, homage, homeopathy (ic), humble, humor, 
hurrah, huzza, illustrate, incomparable, Indian, indicative, 
inquiry, interesting, irreparable, italicize, lamentable, lan- 
guor, lava, laundry, leisure, levee, lever, lichen, loyal, lyce- 
um, Magdalene, matron, memoir, menagerie, mischievous, 
misconstrue, Missouri, molecule, morphine, Moslem, museum, 
mustache, naive, national, notable, oasis, oblique, Odyssey, 
often, omega, orange, orchis, orthoepy, overseer, pageant, 
Palestine, parent, parietal, participial, patent, perfect (v.), 
perfume (n.), Persian, photographer, placard, plebeian, pre- 
cedent (11., adj.), progress (n.), raillery, raspberry, ratio, 
recess, research, reservoir, retail (v.), revolt, rise (n.), ro- 
mance, room, root, route, rule,f sacrifice, saline, salmon, 
scathed, simultaneous, sinew, Sir John, soften, spaniel, 
suffice, suggest, suite, surnamed, survey (n.), telegraphy, 
Thalheimer, therefore, (wherefore,) tiny, tomato, (potato,) 
transition, tribune, trilobite, truths, turbine, trow, Uranus, 
vagary, vehement, volume, wan, wholly, wife's, wives, J wound 
(n ), zoology. 

* Rule for x in such cases. Examples. 

t Rule for long u after r. Examples. 

\ Why change ^ aspirate to s vocal ? State the general principle. 

These hints are merely suggestive of the line of work that should be 
done in the thorough study of this subject in such books as Soule and 
Wheeler's Manual, or the Principles of P ronunciation prefixed to 
Webster's dictionaries. 



26 ORTHOGRAPHY. 

(C) Spelling. 

37. Spelling is expressing the letters of a word 
in their proper order. 

Principles of Spelling. 

The student rvill bring in additional examples under each rule. 

i. F, /, or s, preceded by a single vowel, is 
doubled at the end of a monosyllable ; as, staff, 
still. 

Exceptions. — Clef, if, of as, gas, his, pus,- this, thus, 
us, yes ; the possessives and plurals of nouns ; and the thii'd 
perso?i singular of verbs. 

2. The only other consonants doubled at the end 
of a word in common use, are : b in ebb ; d in add, 
odd ; g in egg; n in inn ; r in err, purr ; t in butt ; 
z in buzz, fuzz. 

3. Monosyllables, or accented final syllables, end- 
ing in a single consonant preceded by a single 
vowel, double the final consonant on taking a suf- 
fix beginning with a vowel ; running, befitting, fore- 
telling. 

Exceptions. — Gaseous, gasify, and words ending in 
h or x ; as, polling, fixing. 

Note. — Of these four particulars: (l) the single final 
consonant, (2) the single vowel preceding, (3) the following 
vowel, (4) the final accent, — if any one is wanting, the rule 
does not apply ; as, soften, beating, manful, benefiting (ex- 



PRINCIPLES OF SPELLING. 27 

cept, perhaps, humbugged, humbugging). If the accent is 
changed in the derivative, the rule does not apply ; compare 
referring, reference, referee. 

For the apparent exceptions, chancellor, tranquillity , and deriva- 
tives of crystal, excel, metal, see Webster, p. lxv. For double / and 
some others, see Worcester, p. xxvii., and, especially, Webster, p. lxv. 

4. Final y preceded by a consonant is generally- 
changed to i on receiving a suffix not beginning 
with i ; as, easy, easier ; pliable, flies, fanciful. 

Exceptions. — The possessives, as, lady's; monosyl- 
labic adjectives, as, dry, shy, sly, spry, zory (but not drier, 
driest)', perhaps, also, proper names, as, the four Henrys; 
also y before ship, as, ladyship, and in the word babyhood. 

5. Final y preceded by a vowel remains un- 
changed on receiving a suffix \ as, valleys, moneys. 

Exceptions. — Daily, laid, paid, said, saith, slain, 
Staid (or stayed). 

6. Final e silent is dropped on receiving a suffix 
beginning with a vowel; as, bride, bridal; corning, 
salable. 

Exceptions. —The e is retained : — 

(a) After c or g, when the suffix begins with a or 0, to 
prevent mispronunciation ; as, peaceable, outrageous. 

(b) In hoeing, shoeing, toeing, and mileage, for the same 
reason. 

(c) In dyeing, singeing, tingeing, to distinguish from dy- 
ing, etc. 

Note. — Present participles of verbs in ie change i into 
y on dropping e before ing; as, die, dying ; vying. 



28 ORTHOGRAPHY. 

7. Final e silent is retained on receiving a suffix 
beginning with a consonant ; 2^, paleness, movement. 

Exceptions. — (a) The e is often dropped when pre- 
ceded by another vowel than e ; as, duly, truly, awful. 

(b) The e is dropped in wholly, nursing, wisdom, abridg- 
ment, acknowledgment, judgment, lodgment. (See, however, 
Worcester?) 

8. Compounds generally retain the spelling of 
the simple words composing them ; as, all-wise ', 
well-bred, household. 

Exceptions. — {a) Some compounds of all and well ; 
as, almighty, withal, welfare. 

(b) Compounds of mass ; as, Christinas. 

(c) Compounds ending in full ; as, artful, willful. 

(d~) The words chilblain, fulfill, namesake, numskull, 
pastime, wherever. 

9. Derivatives formed by a prefix or a suffix to 
a word ending in a double consonant, generally 
retain both consonants ; as, stillness, enroll. 

Exceptions. — The suffixes -less, -ly, added to //, as 
skilless, fully ; derivatives of pontiff, as pontifical; the 
word until. 

10. C is generally followed by k at the end of a 
monosyllable. The most common exceptions are : 
arc, lac, sac, talc, zinc. 

11. C at the end of a word takes k on assuming 
a suffix beginning with e or i ; as, trafficker, pic- 
nicking. 



PRINCIPLES OF SPELLING. 29 

1 2 . Plurals. — For important rules, see under 
" Number" (85-88). 

13. With regard to the terminations -able or -ible ; 
-ance or -ence ; -ize or -ise, — read Webster, lxvii., or 
Worcester, xxvii. 

14. Learn to Spell ! — The person who fails to do this 
before the age of fifteen or eighteen rarely does it at all. 
Students should study carefully the rules for spelling in 
Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, pp. lxv.-lxvii. 

Exercises. 

State the principle or exception by which the word is spelled. 

Planning, spryest, turkeys, catechise, sol, trafficking, bene- 
fited, fly's, delayed, Candlemas, crystalline, planing, mitts, 
churches, judgment, criticise, mottoes, legible, chastity, stiff, 
zincky(?), loves, argument, also, strata, excellence, roofs, 
grottos, deference, foretell, alloys, loved, abundance, knives, 
italicize, visible, two x*s, quitted, woeful, ladies, standing, 
sons-in-law, confidence, alkalies, carbureted, inthrall, tying, 
tranquilize, briefer, illy, twenty sheep, mutable, secretaryship, 
thraldom, quieted, driest, metallurgy, changeable, geese, buy- 
ing, comely, befitting, chasteness, seraphim, swingeing, con- 
ferring, coming, pailfuls, wisdom. 

Make a list of words in -ise ; in -ible ; in -able ; in -ance ; in -e7ice ; 
\a-os (cantos); in -oes (potatoes). This is excellent practice, and may 
be extended indefinitely. 



TOPICAL REVIEW. 



II. — ORTHOGRAPHY. 


(A) Letters. 




(a) Vowels. 




(Ji) Consonants. 




Diphthong, Triphthong, Digraph. 


Capitals, Italics. 




Table II. — Sounds of the Letters. 


Phonic Analysis. 




Names of the Sounds. 




(B) Syllabication. 




Two Methods. 




Principles : — 




I. Compounds. 


6. Suffixes -cean, -cian 


2. Affixes, etc. 


etc. 


3. Two vowels. 


7. Words not divided. 


4. Two consonants. 


- 8. Syllables not divided 


5. Consonants between 




two vowels. 




(C) Spelling. 




Principles : — 


• 


I. Ey I, s. 


8. Compounds. 


2. Consonants doubled. 


9. Double consonants. 


3. Final consonants 


10, 11. C. 


doubled. 


12. Plurals. 


4. Y changed. 


13. Suffixes -able, -ible, 


5. Y unchanged. 


etc. 


6. E dropped. 


14. Fundamental. 


7. E retained. 





ETYMOLOGY. — DERIVATION. 3 1 



III. — ETYMOLOGY. 

38. Etymology treats of words, as to (A) 
Derivation; (B) Classification; (C) Properties 
and Inflections. 

(A) Derivation. 

39. Derivation treats of the formation, origin, 
and history of words. From this point of view 
words are classed as Primitive and Derivative ; 
Simple and Compound. 

In strictness the term derivation includes all those changes 
by which words are formed from other words. It is com- 
mon, however, to treat inflectional changes, as house, 
houses, — man, men, men's, — go, goeth, going, gone, etc., under 
the head of inflection (67) ; and compound words, as house- 
hold, mankind, under the head of compounds (41, 44) ; leav- 
ing to derivation proper only those changes by which words 
essentially different are formed from the same root, as truth, 
truly, truism, trueness, from true. A very brief outline of 
the derivation of each word is given in the larger diction- 
aries, — for practical use about equally valueless in all. 

40. (a) A Primitive Word is not formed 
from any other word in the language ; as, man, 
contract, (see 46). 

(b) A Derivative Word, or simply a Deriv- 



32 ETYMOLOGY. 

ative, is formed from some other word in the lan- 
guage ; as, manly, contracted. 

41. (a) A Simple Word cannot be resolved 
into elementary words ; as, true, truly, truism, be- 
ginning. 

(b) A Compound Word can be resolved into 
elementary words ; as, manlike, heai-tfelt. 

Such words as fearful may be classed as compounds, or 
as derivatives {-fid being considered a suffix). A little stretch 
in this way would make a large portion of our words com- 
pounds, as most affixes can be traced back to some period 
when they had a definite use as distinct words. 

42. The Root of a word is that part which 
remains essentially unchanged in derivatives ; as, 
lov in lovely, loving, beloved. 

In strictness, the term root should be applied to that part 
of a word which runs through several kindred languages (see 
Table III., p. 40) ; while the unchanged part in any one 
language might be called the stem, base, or radical part. 

43. (a) A Prefix is a part of a derivative which 
precedes the root or another prefix ; as, befit, unbe- 
fitting. 

(b) A Suffix is a part of a derivative which fol- 
lows the root or another suffix ; as, coming, becom- 
ing^. 

(c) An Affix may be either a prefix or a suffix ; 
as, becoming. (So Haldeman, English Affixes.) 



COMPOUND WORDS. 33 

Principles of Compounds. 

44. It is often difficult to determine whether a 
group of words should be written as separate words, 
or as a compound. 

(a) Words are compounded : — 

(1) When they indicate a single object or idea; as, stone- 
cutter, church-warden, churchyard, clothes-brush, manslaugh- 
ter, Mrs. Scott- Siddons. 

(2) When they are numerals indicating their combined 
sum; forty-jive, four hundred and ninety-six, three twenty- 
fifths, forty-two thirty-seconds. 

(3) When one is a gender-term; he-bear, man-servant, 
landlord. 

(4) When one is a possessive without the idea of owner- 
ship; bishop' s-wort, daisy, Richardson. 

(5) When they constitute an epithet preceding the noun; 
snow-white, a zuell-to-do man, ne ' er-to-be-forgotten day. 

(J?) Words are not compounded : — 

(1) When the first is used merely as an adjective; gold 
ring, church officer. 

(2) When they constitute an epithet, the principal term 
being modified by an adverb; newly found, hardly earned 
money, (but new-found). 

(3) When they constitute an adjective -phrase following 
the substantive ; a man well to do in the world. 

(4) When they constitute a phrase or idiom (Exc. a, 5) ; 
hand in hand, by far, (but nevertheless, inasmuch, etc.). 

(c) The meaning must often decide; as, negro-?nerchant, 
negro merchant; a live-oak, a live oak; blackbirds, black 
birds ; twenty-five cent pieces, twenty five-cent pieces. 



34 ETYMOLOGY. 

45. It is quite as difficult to decide whether a 
compound word should be hyphened or written as 
a permanent compound. 

(a) Compounds are generally consolidated : — 

(1) When common or of long standing; schoolmaster, 
railroad. 

(2) When the parts readily coalesce in pronunciation; 
bedtime, workshop, overbearing. 

(3) When they have but one accent ; clergyman, house- 
holder, headsman. 

(4) When possessives as in (44, a, 4) are used literally 
and with but one accent ; beeswax, townsman. Such gen- 
erally lose their possessive sign. 

(5) When composed of a noun and an adjective preced- 
ing; blackbird, blockhead. 

[6] So, also, when prefixes are consolidated in pronun- 
ciation ; biennial, overrun. 

(J?) Compounds are generally hyphened : — 

(1) When new or uncommon; neo-Platonic ; legal-tender. 
notes. 

(2) When the parts do not readily coalesce in pronunci- 
ation; bed-chamber, to-day, work-day, electro-magnetism. 

(3) When they have more than one accent ; self-same, 
colfs-foot, deaf-mute. 

(4) Possessives as in (44, a, 4); beards-foot, cafs-paw. 

(5) When composed of a noun and an adjective follow- 
ing; nut-brown, stone-blind, soul- stir ring. 

[6] So, also, when prefixes are not consolidated in pro- 
nunciation, or precede a proper noun; bi-metallic, anti- 
reform, pre- Adamite. 

Note. — When compounds have a common *part, some- 



TERMS PRIMITIVE, DERIVATIVE. 35 

times the other parts are connected by conjunctions, and 
some or all of them hyphened; " cross- and self-fertiliza- 
tion," Darwin; "mono- or di-brom-citraconic," Am. Jour- 
nal of Science. This practice, introduced from the German 
by our savans, is foreign to our usage, and not to be com- 
mended. 

The observant student will have no difficulty in finding plenty of ex- 
ceptions under every case above mentioned. A comparison of the com- 
pounds of any word, as over, upper, in Webster's and Worcester's dic- 
tionaries, will show how utterly our best authorities differ. Common 
usage differs no less. No point in the language is more unsettled. For 
fuller directions, see Soule and Wheeler's Manual, pp. 72-75. 

46. Restricted to our own language, the term 
primitive means " predecessor, more original " (W. 
D. Whitney), rather than strictly the original. Thus, 
in English the word contract is primitive ; that is, 
it is the original of contractor, contractile, etc., — 
though the moment we step back of English into 
Latin the word is itself a derivative*. 

Unless the terms primitive, derivative, are thus limited 
to our own tongue, there is no such thing as a primitive word 
in Modern English; every word can be traced to previous 
forms which it had in some parent language or in some pre- 
vious stage of our own. Derivation, however, to amount to 
much, must go back of present forms, and trace at least the 
immediate ancestry of 'our words in older languages. When 
this is done, the beautiful science of Philology, or Compara- 
tive Grammar, begins to unfold itself. No student who 
aspires to any comprehensive education will fail to read 
some good work on this interesting subject ; say Whitney's 
Language and the Study of Language, or his Life a?id 
Growth of La?iguage ; Marsh's Lectures on the English 



36 ETYMOLOGY. 

Language ; or, at least, the admirable History of the English 
Language prefixed to Webster's Dictionary. 

The few works occasionally referred to, are only such as are likely to 
be within easy reach; and the student is urged to give some of them, at 
least, a very careful perusal. 

47. The principal languages of the world have 
been arranged in the following families or groups, 
of which only the barest outline can here be given.* 

1. American. — Polysyllabic; incorporative or polysyn- 
thetic, — that is, various words, verbal, adjective, modifying, 
are all incorporated into one cumbersome compound, usually 
a verbal. Thus, in the Nez Perce language, wihna means 
"to travel on foot"; tau, " by night"; taula, in the rain; 
kau, "a passing-by"; na is a mark of the indicative, and 
ki of the third person; — "he traveled by on foot in a rainy 
night," is expressed by the single compound, ki-shap-tau-tu- 
al-a~wihnan-kau-na-ni-ma. The paradigm of the Algon- 
quin nin wad, "to see," as given by Schoolcraft, occupies 
ninety quarto pages; and it has been estimated that all the 
possible inflections of this one root would amount to twenty 
millions. These characteristics extend through the hundreds 
of dialects, some of them almost distinct families, from Cape 
Horn to the Arctic. 

See J. H. Trumbull's Indian Languages of America in Johnson's 
Cyclopaedia. 

2. Malay- Polynesian. — Polysyllabic ; agglutinative, 
— that is, the unchanged root is modified by linking to it 
prefixes or suffixes ; only seven to ten consonant elements ; 
syllables of a vowel only, or a vowel preceded by one conso- 
nant ; no inflections or verbs proper. " He has a white 
jacket " expressed, " he with-jacket with-zvhite " / or " he 
ja ckety-wh itey? ' 

*See note, p. 41. 



FAMILIES OF LANGUAGES. 37 

3. South- African. — Agglutinative; sometimes as many 
as sixteen pronominal prefixes to a noun ; prepositional 
prefixes to express case-relations ; verbs with pronominal 
prefixes ; some suffixes ; remarkable for " clicks " or clucks 
made by the tongue in the roof of the mouth. 

4. Scythian or Turanian. — Agglutinative ; no prefixes; 
root unchanged at the head of the word, with one to six 
suffixes. Example: Turkish dog-fnak, to strike; dog-ur, 
striking; dog-ur-um, striking-I, i.e., I strike; dog-d-um, 
act-of-striking-mine, i.e., I have struck. Five subdivisions, 
— Finno-Hungarian, Samoyed, Turkish, and (doubtfully) 
Mongol and Manchu, the last the language of the ruling 
race in China. Some writers include the Dravidian, com- 
prising the Tamil and its kindred in India ; possibly, also, 
the Japanese. 

5. Monosyllabic. — Mere linking of unchanged mono- 
syllabic words; no affixes, inflections, or even verb-noun dis- 
tinctions ; each of the five hundred monosyllabic words 
having a variety of meanings often distinguished 1 by pecul- 
iarities of emphasis,* and each meaning expressed by a 
different character, so that " a language composed of only a 
thousand or two of words is written with an alphabet con- 
taining tens of thousands of different signs." Found in 
China and Farther-India; spoken in its various dialects by 
one-third of the human race. 

6. Hamitic. — Roots mainly monosyllabic like the Chi- 
nese, but with personal verb-inflection and gender indicated 
somewhat as in (7), (8). The principal members of this 
group are the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic language (with 
its records reaching back nearly six thousand years), and its 
successor the Coptic; the Ethiopian, the earliest Babylonian 
(Gen. x. 10), the Berber, perhaps the Hottentot. 

* Something like: Why, John? Why, John! — He has gone by the 
•way; He has gone, by the way. 



38 ETYMOLOGY. 

7. Semitic. — Tri-consonant verbal roots; little of pre- 
fixes or suffixes, but inflection infixed by vowels. Thus the 
Arabic root q-t-l conveys the idea of killing; quatala, he 
killed ; quitala, he was killed ; aqtala, he caused to kill; 
qudtala, he tried to kill ; inquatala, he killed himself; 
quati, murder; quit I, enemy, etc. Each Arabic verb has 
fifteen such conjugations, ten or twelve in common use. 
Some verbs have gender-distinctions; as, quatala, he killed, 
qitatalat, she killed. There are three numbers, two genders, 
two tenses, few connectives, particles, or case-distinctions. 
The verb to be is generally wanting. The radical meaning 
of a word (as " understand," Paradise Lost, VI. 625) is 
never lost sight of. A vivid, pictorial language. The He- 
brew, Arabic, Aramaic (Chaldee, Syrian, etc.), belong to this 
family. 

8. Aryan or Indo-European. — Monosyllabic roots 
(tovely, rezwable, de/te/zafent, in^^ious), their primitive 
meanings, and often their forms, lost sight of in formatives ; 
inflectional* case, modal, and tense forms ; abundance of 
prefixes and suffixes; pronominal suffixes to verbs {-mi, -si, 
-ti ; -m, -s, -t), — remaining in Gr. tithe w^z, put-am-// 
tithe j« /, put-art-Z/fow / tithetaz, put-is-/z<?, — much reduced 
in tithe//«, put-// tithe.?, put-//z0z// tithe.?/, put-//^, — the 
bare fragment left in Lat. su;;/, es, est; Eng. aw, is. 

See Prof. Whitney's Life and Growth of Language, or his article, 
Language , in Johnson's Cyclopaedia, from the latter of which the illus- 
trations in (2), (4), and (7) are taken. 

48. The Aryan * family originated more than 
five thousand years ago, as the rude monosyllabic 
tongue of a race living, possibly, in the plateau of 
Iran. It has gradually spread, as successive waves 

* Pronounced ar'-yan, or ar'-y-an. 



ARYAN LANGUAGES. 39 

of migration swept out from the parent hive, into 
India, Persia, and Europe, expanding into the most 
highly cultivated languages of the earth. The fol- 
lowing are its seven subdivisions : — 

1. The Indian, embracing the Sanskrit of the four 
Vedas, or Brahmanic sacred books ; the Pali, or sacred lan- 
guage of the Buddhists of Farther India ; the Bengali, 
Hindi, Mahratti, and other modern languages of India. 

2. The Iranian, including the Zend of the Avesta, or 
Zoroastrian Bible ; Old Persian (cuneiform of Darius) ; 
Modern Persian, Armenian, and others. 

3. Greek, ancient and modern. 

4. latin, with its modern descendants, the Romance lan- 
guage, viz., Italian, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. 

5. Celtic, represented mainly by the native Irish, Scotch, 
and Welsh. 

6. Slavonic, whose main modern branches are the Rus- 
sian, the Polish, and the Bulgarian. 

7. The Germanic, or Teutonic, of which the principal 
subdivisions are : — 

(a) Gothic, or Meso-Gothic. 

(b) Low German, — two ancient branches : — 

{iji) Anglo-Saxon (600-1 150), transformed into, — 
(P) Semi-Saxon (1 150-1250). 

(7) Old English ( 1 250-1 350). 

(8) Middle English (1350- 15 50). 
(e) Modern English (since 1550). 

(ji) Old Saxon, the ancestor of Dutch and Flemish. 
(<:) High-German, represented by the present German. 
(d) The Norse, or Scandinavian, from which have sprung 
the Icelandic, Swedish, and Danish. 

49. The Sanskrit and Greek are the most highly inflected 



4Q 



ETYMOLOGY. 



and beautiful of their family. The English is the most com- 
posite and receptive of languages ; the least inflected of its 
family, half its vocabulary being reduced to monosyllables; 
poor in rhythm and euphony, but terse, strong, energetic. 
The progress of to-day seems to lie very largely within the 
Germanic race. 

50. The following table from Whitney will illustrate the 
correspondence of the different branches of the Aryan 
family, and, in the last three, the differences of the other 
families. 

Table III * 



Germanic 






* 










English 


two 


three 


thou 


me 


mother 


brother 


daughter 


German 


zwei 


drei 


du 


mich 


mutter 


bruder 


tochter 


Meso-Goth. 


twa 


thri 


thu 


mik 




brothar 


dauhtar 


Celtic 


dau 


tri 


tu 


me 


mathair 


brathair 


dear (?) 


Latin 


duo 


tres 


tu 


me 


mater 


frater 




Greek 


duo 


treis 


su 


me 


meter 


phrater 


thugater 


Persian 


dwa 


thri 


turn 


me 


matar 






Sanskrit 


dwa 


tri 


twam 


me 


matar 


bhratar 


duhitar 


Arabic 


ithn 


tholoth 


anta 


ana 


umm 


akh 


bint 


Turkish 


iki 


uch 


sen 


ben 


ana 


kardash 


kiz 


Hungarian 


ket 


harom 


te 


engem 


anya 


fiver 


leany 



5 1 . The English language is spoken by one hun- 
dred millions of people. Fundamentally it is Ger- 
manic, its whole syntax and structure, and 70 per 
cent. (Gibbon) to 96 per cent. (John's Gospel) of 
its words being Anglo-Saxon. Hence the vital im- 
portance, if we would gain the mastery of our own 
mother tongue, of studying the English language 



* From Whitney's Language and the Study of Language. 



HISTORY OF THE LANGUAGE. 41 

and literature, Anglo-Saxon, and German. A brief 
outline of the history of the language is here given. 
Let the student prepare written sketches of some of 
the leading writers and their works, under each 
period.* 

Read Morley's English Literahire^ edited by Prof. Tyler; Louns- 
bury's History of the English Language ; or Richard Grant White's 
article, English Language and Literature, in Johnson's Cyclopaedia. 

52. When Caesar entered Britain the population and lan- 
guage were Celtic. The Roman domination of 470 years 
left no trace on the language except in the names of a few 

* These long pages on general grammar and literature are inserted 
mainly for advanced classes, in the hope of leading them beyond the in- 
cessant " common-noun-third-person-singTr " to some glimpses of the 
grand and beautiful subject upon which they have entered. The idea is, 
to spend a few minutes of each recitation, while going through the book, 
in a systematic course upon some of the broader topics here suggested. 
A week or so may be given to the great families of languages, another to 
the Germanic branches, another to the Anglo-Saxon, to the Bible trans- 
lators, to Chaucer, Shakespeare, Scott, as the case may be, each student 
having some particular part to look up and present to the class, till all 
have a fair idea of the matter in hand. 

This will require teaching. Something of the kind seems imperatively 
demanded to lift our young people out of their depraved taste for the 
trash of the news-stands up to some love and relish for the Masters. 
Nothing can accomplish this but the school; and no part of our educa- 
tional work demands more attention or receives less. So far as the 
writer is aware, this is the first attempt to make this work a part of the 
regular course in grammar, and thus to bring it before the larger number 
rather than the few who enter our higher classes in literature. 

Attention is called, as indicative of the demands of the times in this 
direction, to some remarkable articles that have lately been published: 
the Litroduction, by E. P. Whipple, prefixed to Webster s Great 
Speeches; English in Schools in Hudson's edition of The Merchant of 
Venice, also the Preface to the same author's admirable Classical 
English Reader; and The Public Library and the Common Schools^ 
by C. F. Adams, Jr. 



42 ETYMOLOGY. 

towns from castra, colonia, porta, pons, etc., as Winchester, 
Lincoln, etc. Subsequent conquerors almost exterminated 
the Celts, and only a few words of their language now re- 
main ; as, Britain, bard, druid, glen, lad, dun, basket. A 
few others are of a later date ; as, brogue, clan, shanty, 
whisky. 

53. Anglo-Saxon. — The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes sub- 
jugated Britain (449-1017), gave their name, Angle-land, to 
the country, and (circ. 600) made their own Low-German 
dialect the only language spoken, except among the Welsh, 
Irish, and Scotch remnants of the Celts. The Anglo-Saxon 
was a highly inflected language, like the Latin. For its 
grammar and literature, and for specimens at various stages, 
see Lounsbury and Alarsh, or, more briefly, Webster, xxx- 
xxxix, and Worcester, xlii-xlix. (See 62.) 

Literature. — Beowulf (?), Csedmon (670), the Venerable Bede 
(Latin, 673-735), King Alfred (848-901), The Saxon Chronicle (circ. 
800-1154). 

54. Danish. — The Danes overran parts of England 
(787-1017), and for a few years (101 7-1042) ruled the 
whole country. Little trace of their language now remains, 
— the terminations of a few names, as K^nby, Althorp, 
~E>x2itkwaite ; the Old Scratch ; the verb are. 

55. Norman-French. — This began to be used under 
Edward the Confessor (1042- 1065), and, on the Norman 
Conquest (1066), was made the educational and court lan- 
guage of the realm. A marked change in the Anglo-Saxon 
resulted during the next five hundred years, mainly (1) from 
the loss of most of its inflections, (2) from the introduction 
of French words. The sturdy common people, however, 
shut out from church, court, school, and culture, clung to 
their mother-tongue, so that for the first century (1066-1150) 
the change was very slow. 



HISTORY OF THE LANGUAGE. 43 

Literature. — Very meager. The Saxon Chronicle ( 1154) in 

English; William of Malmesbury (1095-1143) in Latin. 

56. Semi-Saxon. — During the next century (1 150-1250) 
the inflections grew more and more confused ; the vowel e 
replaced the other vowels in most grammatical endings, and a 
few French words came into use. (How slowly the French 
crept into the language may be inferred from the fact that 
Laymon's £>7'ut (1205), a poem of 32,250 lines, contains less 
than fifty Norman words.) 

Literature. — Geoffrey of Monmouth ( 1152), Richard Wace (1115- 

80), Walter Mapes (1143-1210), Laymon's Brut (1205), Ormin's Ormu- 
lujn (1215). 

57. Old English. — By the end of another century (1250- 
1350) the language had begun to assume much of its pres- 
ent form, the inflections were mostly lost, the old plurals 
were changing to s, and the verbal endings -ad, -de, -ed, -en 
(to walken, they tell*;*), began to appear. Semi-Saxon and 
Old English are often very properly included in one period, 
Early English (11 50-1 350) . 

Literature. — Robert of Gloucester (1300), Robert of Brunne 
(1330), The Miracle Plays. 

58. Middle English (1 350-1 550). — About the close of 
the last period, political events brought about a union be- 
tween the Saxon population and their Norman lords ; the 
languages merged more rapidly, and a multitude of Latin- 
French words was introduced. The inflections were reduced 
to about their present form, and e final ceased to be pro- 
nounced. Chaucer (1 328-1400), Piers Plowman (1360-99), 
Wyclif's Bible (1380), Caxton's Printing Press (1474-92), 
and, most of all, Tyndale's New Testament (1525, 26), grad- 
ually brought the> language to essentially its present form. 



44 ETYMOLOGY. 

Literature. — Add to the foregoing: Sir John Mandeville (1300- 
1371), John Gower (1327-1408), Morte cT Arthur (1485), Sir Thomas 
More (1480-1535), Translations of the Bible (Coverdale's, 1537; 
" Matthew's," 1537; " The Great Bible," 1538; Geneva, 1560; Bishop's, 
1568; Douay, Catholic, 1582). 

59. Modern English (since 1550).— The great works 
of Spenser (1552-99), Milton (1608-74), Bunyan (1628-88), 
and, more than all the rest, Shakespeare (1 564-1 61 6) and 
King James's Bible (1611), gave a stability to the language 
which it has ever since retained. The verbal ending, -th, 
-eth, has since mostly disappeared, as has, also, the subjunc- 
tive form. Spelling has undergone much change ; a large 
number of new words, chiefly technical, has been introduced, 
but the general form of the language has hardly changed 
since Shakespeare. 

Literature. — Let the student make out a list of twenty of the best 
English writers since 1550; of ten of the best American writers. 

60. Latin, Greek. — After the introduction of Christian- 
ity into England (597), the church language was, for a long 
time, mostly Latin ; so, also, was the legal and literary lan- 
guage for centuries. This gave currency to many Latin 
words, especially in theological and legal phrase. The the- 
ology and philosophy of the times also made use of many 
Greek terms. Most of our Latin words, however, were in- 
troduced through the Norman-French, as may be seen from 
their different spelling from the true Latin. A great num- 
ber of Greek and Latin words has also been introduced 
through the modern sciences. 

61. Other languages have contributed more or less to 
our vocabulary. From the Hebrew we have a few words, 
mostly religious ; as, amen, Eden, jubilee, Messiah, pharisee, 
Sabbath, seraph. Arabic contributes a larger number ; as, 
algebra, alcohol, admiral, coffee, cotton, chemistry, cipher, jar, 



HISTORY OF THE LANGUAGE. 45 

le?non, magazine \ sofa, sugar, zero. Persian gives a few ; 
as, bazaar, check, chess, lilac, orange, scarlet, shawl. Turkish 
has less ; as, divan, sash, tulip. The American languages 
furnish quite a number ; as, canoe, potato, sachem, tobacco. 

Most of us manage to get along with two thousand to 
three thousand words. An " unabridged " dictionary con- 
tains, perhaps, one hundred thousand words. Of these, 
Trench estimates that 60 per cent, are from the Saxon, 30 
per cent, from the Latin or Latin-French, 5 per cent, from 
the Greek, and 5 per cent, from all other languages. The 
vocabulary of the " Ormulum " contains 97 per cent, of 
Anglo-Saxon words ; of the Bible and Shakespeare, 60 per 
cent.; of Milton, 33 per cent. Counting each word every time 
it is used, Robert of Gloucester employed 96 per cent, of 
pure English words ; " Piers Ploughman," 84 to 94 per cent.; 
Chaucer, 88 to 93 ; the New Testament, 90 to 96 ; Shake- 
speare, 88 to 91 ; Milton, 80 to 90 ; Gibbon, 70 ; Tennyson, 
87 to 89 ; Longfellow, 87 ; Bryant, 84 to 92. The moral 
is plain for those who would acquire the mastery of a good 
English style. 

62. Specimens of English at different periods, as 
shown in translations of the Lord's Prayer : — 

i. King James's Version (161 1). 

Our father which art in heauen, hallowed be thy Name. 
Thy kingdome come. Thy will be done, in earth, as it is 
in heauen. Give vs this day our dayly bread. And forgiue 
vs our debts, as we forgiue our debters. And leade vs not 
into temptation, bvt deliuer vs from euill : For thine is the 
kingdome, and the power, and the glory, for euer, Amen. 

2. Tyndale's Version (1526). 

O oure father which art in heven, halowed be thy name. 



46 ETYMOLOGY. 

Let thy kingdom come. Thy wyll be fulfilled, as well in erth, 
as hit ys in heven. Geve vs this daye our dayly breade. And 
forgeve vs oure treaspases euen as we forgeve them which 
treaspas vs. Leede vs not into temptation, but delyvre vs 
from yvell. Amen. 

3. Wyclifs Version (1380). 

Oure fadir that art in heuenes, halwid be thi name ; thi 
kvngdom cumme to ; be thi wille don as in heuen and in 
erthe ; gif to vs this day ouer breed oure other substaunce ; 
and forgeue to vs oure dettis as we forgeue to oure dettours ; 
and" leede vs nat in to temptacioun, but delyuere vs fro yuel. 
Amen. 

4. Anglo-Saxon Version {ninth century). 
Fader tire thu the eart on heofenum, Si thin nama gehal- 

god. To-becume thin rice. Gewurthe thin willa on eorthan, 
swa swa on heofonum. Urne gedaghwamlican hlaf syle us 
to daeg. And forgyf us tire gyltas swa swa we forgyfath 
tirum gyltendum. And ne gelaed thu us on costnunge, ac 
alys us of yfele : Sothlice. 

5 . Compare Luther's Ger?na?i Version (1522). 
Unser Vater in dem Himmel. Dien Name werde ge- 

heiliget. Dein Reich komme. Dein Wille geschehe auf 
Erden wie im Himmel. Unser taglich Brot gib uns heute. 
Und vergib uns unsere Schulden, wie wir unsern Schuldigern 
vergeben. Und fuhre uns nicht in Versuchung, sondern 
erlose uns von dem Uebel. Denn dein ist das Reich und die 
Kraft und die Herrlichkeit in Ewigkeit, Amen. 

63. The following are some of the more common 
prefixes with their general signification. The stu- 



PREFIXES. 47 

dent should bring in examples under each. (See 
note, p. 41.) 

1. Anglo-Saxon Prefixes. 

A- (on, in, at, to, from), aboard, abed. 

After (following), afternoon. 

Al- (all), a/mighty. [In Arabic, al- = the; as, algebra.'] 

At- (to, at), atone. 

Be- (by, upon, nearness, causative, intensive), <5^side, <^daub. 

For-, fore- (from, against, opposition), forget, forbid. 

Fore-, for- (before^y^tell. 

Forth- (out, forward), forthcoming. 

Gain- (against) , gai?isay. 

In- (into, within), income. (See un, or Lat. in, not.) 

Mis- (wrong, error), mistake. 

Of-, off- (from, out of, source), of fa.], <^shoot. 

On- (upon, forwards), onset, <?7^rush. 

Out- (without, beyond, excess), outside, outvie. 

Over- (above, beyond, excess)', overlay, overwork. 

Step- (Ang.-Sax. steopan, to bereave), stepiatner. 

To- (denoting approach, nearness), Awards, to-day. 

Un- (not, the contrary, absence; with verbs, to take off, undo), 

untrue, undo, undress. (See Webster.) 
Under- (beneath, through), undeiseW, undergo. 
Up- (upwards, on high), z^start, upXrit. 
With- (against, back, opposition), withstand, withnoXd. 

2. Latin Prefixes. 

A-, ab-, abs- (from, away), avert, abduct. 

Ad- (to), advert. (By assimilation, a-, ac-, af, ag-, al- t am- t 

an-, ap-, ar-, as-, at-.) 
Ante- (before), antecedent, antedate. 
Bene- (well), to^volent, fo^factor. 
Circum-, circu- (round, about), circumference. 
Con- (with, Gr. syn.), converse, (co-, cog-, col-, com-, cor-). 
Contra-, counter- (against), contradict, coiitr overt. 



48 ETYMOLOGY. 

De- (from, of, down), defer, Ascend. 

Demi- (half, inferior) , demigod. 

Dis-, di-, dif-, (two, not, asunder, reverse), ^syllable, ^ap- 
prove, divide. 

Ex- (from, out, of) , £jrit (e-, ec-, ef-) . 

Extra- (beyond), extraordinary. (Generally hyphened, — ex- 
tra-judicial.) 

In- (in, into), z'?ztrude, (en-, im-, em-, il-, ir-). 

In- (not), ^credible, (ig-, U-, im-, ir-). 

Inter-, intro- (within, in), intercourse. (Fr. entre-, enter-.) 

Male-, mal- (bad, ill), malefa.ctor. 

Mis- (Lat. minus, Fr. mes, less, error), #mchief, miscrea.ni. 

Non- (not), «p;z-essential. (Generally hyphened.) 

Ob- (against, in front), extrude, (o-, oc-, of, op-). 

Per- (through), perceive, (par-, pet-, pot-). m 

Post- (after) , /^/script. 

Pre- (before) , pretend. 

Pur- (Fr., per-, pro-) , purchase, purvey. 

Pro- (for, forth, forward, pur-), pronoun, progress, purpose. 

Re- (back, again, anew), revoke, reaffirm. 

Retro- (backward, back) , retrograde, retrospect. 

Se- (apart, away) , delude, .recede. 

Semi- (half) , ^^icircle. (Generally hyphened.) 

Sine (without), sinecure. 

Sub- (under, below), .reject, (sue-, suf-, sug-, sum-, sup-,sur', 
sus-) . 

Subter- (under, beneath), subterfuge. 

Super-, sur- (above, over), superficia.], surtout (Fr.). 

Trans- (across, over, through), transfer, (tra-, tres-). 

Ultra- (beyond, extreme), ultramarine. 

Vice- (instead of), vicegerent, z/^count (Fr.). 

[Wni-,una-; bis-,bi-; tri-,tria- (ter-) ; quadr-,quatr- (quart-, 
quater-, quat-) ; quinque-, quin- ; sex-; sept-; octo-, octa-; non-; 
decern-, decim-, deci- ; duodecim- ; cent- ; mill-.] 



PREFIXES. 49 

3. Greek - Prefixes. 

A-, an- ("alpha privative" — not), anonymous, anarchy. 

Amphi- (about, double) , <zw//^'theater, amphibious. 

Ana- (up, through, back again), anatomy, analysis. 

Anti-, ant- (against) , a;2^'pathy. 

Apo-, aph- (from, away), apostle, aphorism. 

Arch- (chief, head), archangel, architect. 

Auto- (self), tfz^tfbiography, autocrat. 

Cata-, cat- (down, against, completeness), ^fostrophe. 

Dia- (through, asunder), diameter, diacritical. 

Dys- (bad, ill, hard), ^'jpepsia. 

En- (in), ^cyclopaedia. 

Bpi- (upon, on), <?^'taph. 

Eu- (well), £&phemism. 

Ex-, ec- (out, from), ^osmose, acentric. 

Hemi- (half), hemiptera. 

Hyper- (above, beyond, excess), hyperbole, hyperergic. 

Hypo- (under, beneath), hypothesis. 

Meta- (beyond, trans-), metaphysics. 

Mono- (single), monograph. 

Pan- {all) , panacea, panorama. 

Para- (beside) , parasite, paragraph. 

Peri- (round, about, near) , perimeter, perigee. 

Pro- (before) , problem, proboscis. 

Pseudo- (false), pseudonym. 

Syn- (with, together, eon-) , syntax, (sy- } syl-, sym-) . 

[Duo-, dis- } di- ; tris-, tri-, tria- ; tetra- ; pente-, pent a- ; hex- 
hexa- ; hepta- , octo-, octa- ; ennea- ; deka-, deca- ; dodeca- ; 
heca-, hecto-, hekto- ; chili-, kilo ; myri-.~\ 

64. Some of the more common suffixes are given 
below. They can be denned only in the most gen- 
eral way. Let the student get at the original literal 



50 ETYMOLOGY. 

meaning as nearly as may be, and then see how the 
present meaning could come about. 

(See Stormonth's English Dictionary ', p. 749.) 

i. English Suffixes. 

I. Nouns. 

(a) Agent, one who, that which. 
-ard, drunkard, wizard. 

-er, -ar, -or, baker, liar, sailor, 
-ster, spinster, Webster. 
-stress, songstress. 

(b) Abstract, — quality, condition, office, dominion, place, 

action, etc. 
-dom, wisdom, kingdom. 
-head, -hood, maidenhead, manhood. 
-ing", his reckon/^, talki?7g, (bagging). 
-kind, mankind. 
-ness, darkness, goodness. 
-red, hatred, kindr^. 
-ric, bishoprzV. 
-ry, -ery, bakery, colli^. 
-ship, friendship, worship. 
-th, -t, health, truth, heigh/, drift. 

(c) Diminutives. 

-el, -le, satchd?/, siekle, kernel. 
-en, chicks, kitt<?;z. 
-erel, piekerel. 

-ie, -ey, -y, lassz>, jockey, Johnny. 
-kin, \ambkin, napkin. 
-let, leaf/<?/, eyelet, hamlet. 
-ling', -ing", gosling, bantling. 
-ock, hillock. 

II. Adjectives. 

-ch, -sh, (of, belonging *o), French, Welsh. 
-ed, -d, -t (participial, — having, being, etc.), booted, 
wretch^, bent, (deed). 



SUFFIXES. 5 1 

-en (participial), driven, holpen\ (material), wooden, 

golden. 
-er, -est (more, most), higher, highest. 
-erly, -ern (direction toward), northerly, western. 
-fold (folded), tenfold, manifold. 
-ful (full of), fear////, tearful. 
-ish (like, somewhat), girlish, olaekisk. 
-less (without, absence of), hopeless. 
-like, -ly (like), lifelike, man /p. 
-some (some, same, full of), gamesome. 
-teen, -ty (ten), fourteen, forty. 
-th (rank), sixth. 

-"ward (direction towards), homeward, eastward. 
-y> -ey (full of), hilly, cloud/, rocky. 

III. Adverbs. 

-ly (like), sadly, only. 

-ling", -long" (long, along), flatting, headlong. 

-meal (division), piecemeal. 

-n, -re (from A.-S. pronouns), then, there. 

-s, -st, -ce, need.?, whib - /, twice, thence. 

-ther (there), whither, thither. 

-ways, -wise (manner), sideways, edgewise. 

IV. Verbs. 

(a) Frequentatives. 

-er, slimmer, chatter. 
-k, tal/&, har/£. 
-le, crack/^. 

(b) Causatives. 

-en, shorten, gladden. 
-se, cleans. 

2. Latin and French Suffixes. 
I. Nouns. 

(a) Agent, one who, that which, 
-ain, -an, villain, artisan. 
-ant, -ent, merchant, student. 
-ary, -ery, -ory, -ry, aviary, nursery, factory, vestry. 



52 ETYMOLOGY. 

-ate, certificate, predicate. 

-ee, {to), devote, grants, pay<?<?. 

-eer, -ier, engineer, brigade. 

-er, -or, (-our), preachy, governs, Savior. 

-ess, lion^j, abbess. 

-iff, cait//, plaint//. 

-ist, novels/, diplomat^/. 

-ite, -it, (gentile nouns), Israelite, Jesuit; (minerals), 
granite, cuprite, halite. 

-ive, fugitive, captive. 

-ix, executr/>. 

-sor, -tor, sponsor, spectator. 
{b) Abstract, — quality, condition, office, dominion, place, 
action, etc. 

-acy, -cy, obdunz^y, clemency. 

-ade, parade, blockade. 

-age, coura 6 ^, homfl^, marritf^. 

(-ana, Johnsoni<z/m.) 

-ance, -ence, endurance, obedience. 

-ancy, -ency, bri\\ia}icy, Huency. 

-ess, -ice, -ise, larg^j-r, justice. 

-eur, grander. 

-ion, -sion, -tion, doming, decision, oration. 

-lence, pestite;*^. 

-ment, commence;;*^/. 

-mony, matrimony, patrimony. 

-or, -our, flavor, color. 

-ory, victory, (auditory) . 

-tude, longitude, solitude. 

-ty, -ity, bounty, duty, stupidity. 

-ure, -ture, creators, literature, 

-y, victory, misery. 
{c) Diminutives. 

-aster, poetaster. 

-el, -le, parc<?/, cast/*?. 

-et, -let, pack.?/, braced. 

-ette, -et, coqu<?/te, (Harris/). 



SUFFIXES. 53 

-icle, -icel, -cule, -ule, particle, pedicel, molecule, 
globule. 

II. Adjectives. 

-able, -ible, -ble, -ile (able, fit; that can, should be), 
blamable, audible, stable, ductile. 

-al, -an, -ian, -ane (pertaining to, fitness, origin), royal, 
hum^, America, Christie, urbane. 

-ant, -ent (participial, being) , vigilant, pat^. 

-ar, -ary, -ory (of, relating to), angular, ordinal, 
illusory. 

-ate (full of) , desolale. 

-escent (growing, becoming), convalescent, 

-ese (pertaining to) , Chin^^. 

-esque (like), pictur<?.r^#<?. 

-fie (producing), terri/fc, sudoryfo. 

-i, -O (Lat. or Gr. genitive, Lat. abl., of, by, from), horti- 
culture {of), thermo-electricity {by, from); connective. 

-ic, -ical (like, pertaining to), gigantic, astronomzVfl/. 

-id (like, noting quality), humid, tepid, r\uid. 

-il, -le, -ile (pertaining to), civ/7, gentle, juvenile. 

-ine (like, belonging to), femin^, (hero^). 

-ive (full of) , active, sportiz^. 

-lent (full of), virulent, corpulent. 

-or (more), inferior, exterior. 

-ose, -ous (full of), verbose, glorious. 

-plex, -pie, -ble (fold), complex, triple, double. 

III. Verbs. 
Causative. 

-ate, assimilafe, vacate. 
-esce, deliqu^o^. 
-fy, magnify, signify. 
-ish, publish, Nourish. 

3. Greek Suffixes. 
-ic, -ics {n.), logic, music, polity.?; {adj.), chronzV, ethn^, 
plethorzV. 



54 ETYMOLOGY. 

-ides (ft.), canthar ides, (patroymic) Atrzdes. 

-isk (diminutive), asterisk, obelisk. 

-ism, -asm (n.), catech/j/«, theism, sarcasm. 

-ist, -yst (n.), deist, polygamy, analyst. 

-ize, -ise (causative), civile, catechu* 

-ma, -m, -mata (?t.), dogma, phlegm, stomata, (cf. Lat. 

■realm, Eng. dream, seam, stream.) 
-oid (adj., form, like), spheroid, deltoid, (chloride). 
-on (n.), skeleton, diapas^^, lexic^?^. 
-OS (n.), path^j. 

-sis, -is, -sy (n.), emphasis, epidermw, palsy. 
-y (n.), monarchy, category, (glory, history). 

[There is no space for the multitude of inflectional endings (-a, -i, -o, 
-um, -us, -is, etc., etc.) that have crept into English from the Latin and 
Greek.] 

65. A few root- words are appended, from which 
the student should form as many derivatives as 
possible, giving the import of root, prefix, and 
suffix. 

All the foregoing affixes and examples are only illustrative, as are, 
also, the following root-words. The exact force of root and affix varies 
almost indefinitely, though reducible in a general way to a few primitive 
meanings. This can only be learned by the careful study of special 
works on the subject. See Msetzner's English Gra7?imar, I. 432, Hal- 
deman's Affixes to English Words, or any good work on Greek or 
Latin derivation. 

i. Anglo-Saxon Root- Words. 

Plenty of examples will readily suggest themselves ; as man, 
from which form manly, manful, manhood, unman, manned, 
gentleman, etc. So, also, true, heart, strong, love, hate, hear, 
see, etc. 

* See Webster, p. lxvii. 



ROOT-WORDS. 55 



2. Latin Root- Words. 

Capio, captum, to take, lay hold of, (190 words are said to 

be derived from this) * 
Duco, ductum, to lead. 
Doceo, doctum, to teach. 
Facio, factum, to make, produce, (640 words). 
Fero, latum, to bear, carry, bring, (198 words). 
Mitto, missum, to send, let go, (174 words). 
Plico, plicitum, plicatum, to bend, fold, (200 words). 
Pono, positum, to put, place, (300 words). 
Posse, potens, to be able. 
Scio, to know, — scle?is, scientla. 
Scribo, scriptum, to write. 
Teneo, tentum, to hold, keep, (180 words). 
Venio, ventum, to come. 
Video, visum, to see, (160 words). 
Vivo, victum, to live. 
Voco, vocatum, to call. 

Ago, actum, to conduct, do, act, (seen in many words ; as 
navigate) ; ager, agri, a field ; anima, breath, life ; aqua, 
water; bellum, war; bene, well; caput, head; certus, 
sure, certain ; civitas, a state ; corpus, body ; cultus, tillage ; 
deus, a god; dico, dictum, to speak; domus, house; 
finis, end, limit; flecto, flexum, to turn, bend; gratia, 
favor ; habeo, habitum, to have ; lex, legis, law ; litera, 
letter; male, bad; mater, mother; novus, new; pater, 
father; pello, pulsum, to drive, strike; porto, portatum, 
to carry ; queeso, qusesitum, to seek, ask ; rectus, straight, 
right; regnum, kingdom ; sacer, sacred ; sentio, sensum, 
to perceive, " sense " ; tang*o, tactum, to touch ; traho, 

* These figures are mostly from. Haldeman (Affixes, p. 16). He 
gives the number of words formed by some of the principal affixes as fol- 
lows : un-, 3600; in-, 2900; con-, 2400; re-, 2200; dis-, 1800; -ly, 2000; 
-ion, 1900; -ness, 1300. His table gives twelve roots and twenty-four 
affixes that are found, in all, in 36,850 words. 



56 ETYMOLOGY. 

tractum, to draw; unus, one; verbum, word; verto, 
versum, to turn; vita, life; via, way; volvo, volutum, 

to roll. 

3. Greek Root-Words. 

Grapho, to write, (gramma, graphy, writing, treatise, science). 

The root of 200 English words. 
Logos, word, reason, science, {logy, the science of). The root 

of 200 words. 
Metron, measure, (meter). 

Arche, origin, dominion, chief; autos, self; alios, an- 
other; bios, life; baros, weight; chronos, time; cosmos, 
world ; etumos* true ; ge, earth ; gonia, angle ; helios, 
sun; hudor,* water; lithos, a stone; lusis, a loosing; 
mikros, small ; oligos, few ; onoma, name ; orthos, 
straight; pathos, feeling; phero, to bear, carry; philos, a 
friend; phone, sound; phos, photos, light ; phusis, 
nature; skopeo, to see; Sophia, skill, learning; tele, far; 
techne, art; theos, a god; therma, heat; trepo, to turn; 
zoon, an animal. 

Form 3. — Derivation. 

It matters little what form is used : state the facts in the case. 

c simple -\ 

is a -J compound j-word, composed of 

1 etc. J 

r Eng. ^ root , ^ 

the < Lat. >■ prefix , >■ meaning . 

I Gr., etc. J suffix , J 

Literal signification , which comes [explain how] to be 

, as here used. [State any further facts in regard to its 

history, use, etc.] 

* Gr. 11 = y ; hit dor = hydro. 



TOPICAL REVIEW. 



III. — ETYMOLOGY. 

(A) Derivation. 

Primitive, Derivative. 
Simple, Compound. 
Root, Prefix, Suffix, Affix. 
Principles of Compounds. 

1. (a) When compound. 

(£) When not compound. 

2. (<z) When consolidated. 
(J?) When hyphened. 

Note on Derivation. 



Families of Languages. 

1. American. 

2. Malay-Polynesian. 

3. African. 

4. Scythian or Turanian. 

Branches of the Aryan. 

1. Indian. 

2. Iranian. 

3. Greek. 

4. Latin. 

Divisions of the Germanic. 
(#) Gothic. 
(J?) High German. 
(V) Low German. 



5. Monosyllabic. 

6. Hamitic. 

7. Semitic. 

8. Aryan. 

5. Celtic. 

6. Slavonic. 

7. Germanic. 



5 8 ETYMOLOGY. 

(ni) Anglo-Saxon. 

(P) Semi-Saxon | EarlEUsk 

(7) Old English / J s 

(8) Middle English, 
(c) Modern English. 

(n) Old Saxon. 

Dutch, Flemish. 
(d) Norse. 

Icelandic, Swedish, Danish. 



Table III. 






Skeleton History 


of English. 


(Note.) 




Norman-French. 


Roman. 




Early English. 


Celtic. 




Modern English. 


Anglo-Saxon. 




Latin and Greek. 


Danish. 




Other Languages. 



Percentage Structure of English. 
Specimens of English, — the Lord's Prayer. 
List of Prefixes. 

(1) Anglo-Saxon; (2) Latin; (3) Greek. 
List of Suffixes. 

(1) Anglo-Saxon; (2) Latin; (3) Greek. 
Specimen Root-Words. 

(1) English; (2) Latin; (3) Greek. 
Form 3. — Analysis of Derivation. 



CLASSES AND PROPERTIES OF WORDS. 59 

(B, C) Classes and Properties of Words. 

66. Words are grouped according to meaning 
and use into eight classes : Noun, Pronoun, Adjec- 
tive, Verb, Adverb, Preposition, Conjunction, Inter- 
jection. 

A Part of Speech is one of these eight classes of words. 

67. The Properties of words are those gram- 
matical qualities that belong to them. They are 
the properties : — 

(1) Of nouns and pronouns, — gender, person, 
number, case. 

(2) Of adjectives and adverbs, — comparison. 

(3) Of verbs, — form, voice, mode, tense, person, 
and member. 

68. Inflection is that change in form which a 
word undergoes to express its different properties. 
It is one kind of derivation, but other kinds must 
not be confounded with it. Thus, man, man's, 
men, is inflection ; but manly, manful, manlike, is 
not. 

The inflection of a noun is called declension ; of an 
adjective, comparison ; of a verb, conjugation. 

The classification and properties of words may be best 
treated in connection. 



60 etymology. 

Noun. 

69. A Noun is a name. There are two main 
divisions of nouns, Proper and Common; subordi- 
nate divisions are Collective, Abstract, and Verbal 

70. A Proper Noun distinguishes some one 
from the rest of its kind ; as, John, Boston* 

71. A Common Noun applies equally well to 
any one of its kind ; as, man, city. 

Three kinds of common nouns are generally re- 
ferred to by other names : — 

(a) A Collective Noun is the name of a 
group ; as, army, school, herd. 

(b) An Abstract Noun is the name of an 
object of thought having neither substance nor life ; 
or, it is the name of a quality, action, or attribute ; 
as, truth, goodness, journey. (Such objects as soul, 
spirit, though immaterial, have life.) 

(c) A Verbal Noun is an abstract noun in 
which the object of thought is the action or condi- 
tion indicated by the verb ; as, to lie is base ; 
studying is hard work. 

72. Other terms are of frequent occurrence in this con- 
nection : — 

(a) A Material Noun denotes a substance ; as, wood, 
gold, tea. 

{])) A Participial Noun is a participle used as a verbal 
noun ; as, seeing is believing. 

* In all cases when examples are given, the student should be pre- 
pared to give many more. 



NOUN. 6 1 

(r) Complex Noun is a convenient name for such ex- 
pressions as, " Bard-of-Loi?iond 's lay," " Str at ford- up on- 
Avon?' 

(d) A Compound Noun is the whole name of a person ; 
as, Gen. George Washington. 

(*) A Substantive Phrase or Clause is a phrase or 
clause used as a noun ; as, " To be or not to be, that is the 
question ; " " That you have wronged me doth appear in this." 
- (/) So all characters, words, phrases, clauses, having the 
grammatical construction of nouns, are often referred to 
under the general head of Substantives. (But see defini- 
tion in the dictionary.) 

73. Most grammarians teach that proper nouns 
become common when pluralized ; as, the twelve 
Ccesars, the Twks ; so, also, when they approach 
a class meaning ; as, he was a Nero, i.e., a tyrant; 
"a second Daniel come to judgment," i.e., a wise 
man ; — 

" Some mute, inglorious Milton here may rest, 
Some Cromwell guiltless of his country's blood." 

But in such cases as the Turks, the Romans, the Ccesars r 
the noun is clearly proper, being the name of a people, na- 
tion, or family ; and, notwithstanding the authorities, it may 
be safely questioned whether the other cases are not proper 
also. Milton, above, is not synonymous with poet, nor is 
Nero with tyrant. 

74. A common noun becomes proper when used 
as a distinguishing name \ as, in Boston, the Com- 
mon ; in New York, the Park; in any town, the 



62 ETYMOLOGY. 

High School, the Methodist Churdh ; so, also, Phil- 
lips Academy, not Phillips academy ; Hudso7i River, 
B affiii's Bay, Tremont Street, not river, bay, street 
But "the Missouri, Mississippi, and Ohio rivers" 
Usage varies, however, on these points. 

75. Personification is a figure of speech by 
which irrational objects are spoken of as rational ; 
as, " Night, sable goddess, from her ebon throne." 
(See under Figures of Rhetoric.) 

But nute that not every noun denoting slight personifica 
tion (79), or beginning with a capital, is a proper noun. 
See Longfellow anywhere ; as, — 

" From the strong Will, and the Endeavor 
That forever 
Wrestles wteh the tides of FateP 

76. The Properties of nouns are gender, per- 
son, number, and case. Nouns are inflected for 
number, slightly so for case, sometimes for gender, 
not at all for person. 

77. Gender is a property of words to mark a 
distinction in regard to sex in objects. A word 
may represent an object of the male sex, of the 
female sex, of a sex unknown, of no sex; hence 
words may have four genders. Gender belongs to 
words only ; sex to objects only. 

(a) The Masculine Gender denotes objects 
of the male sex ; as, man, king, duke. 

(b) The Feminine Gender denotes objects 
of the female sex ; as, woman, queen, duchess. 



-GENDER OF NOUNS. 63 

(V) The Common Gender denotes objects 
that may be either male or female ; as, parent, 
servant, companion. 

(a 7 ) The Neuter Gender denotes objects with- 
out sex ; as, tree, rock. 

78. Names of males, or of females, are often of the com- 
mon gender ; as, a herd of horses ; a flock of geese, ducks. 

79. Gender is sometimes attributed according to char- 
acter : — 

(a) Names of objects large, rough, powerful, and the like, 
are often masculine ; as, The sun sheds his rays ; Winter 
sends his storms. 

(b) Names of objects beautiful, delicate, productive, are 
often feminine ; as, The moon hid her face ; The ship lost 
her mast. 

(c) Names of objects which, though having sex, are slight, 
weak, dependent, are sometimes neuter ; as, The child lost 
its way. 

80. There are three modes of distinguishing 
gender : — 

(a) By different words ; as, man, woman. 

{F) By difference of termination; as lion, lion- 
ess ; actor, actress. 

(c) By a distinguishing word ; as, man-se7'vant, 
maid-servant ; landlord, landlady. 

81. Person is that property of words by which 
the speaker, the hearer, and the object spoken of, 
are distinguished. 

(a) The First Person denotes the speaker. 



%4 ETYMOLOGY. 

(£) The Second Person denotes the hearer. 
(c) The Third Person denotes the object 
spoken of. 

82. Note here : — 

(<?) That the person of the attribute (169, a) is not 
necessarily that of the subject ; as, /am king; It was you. 

(b) That a noun of the first or second person is never the 
subject of a verb (Rem. 26, p. 143); "Yz forests, wave." 

83. Number is the distinction of one from 
more than one. 

(a) The Singular Number denotes one. 

(b) The Plural Number denotes more than 
one. 

84. The plural is generally formed by the suffix 
s to the singular ; as, hat, hats. 

When the s could not be easily pyonounced, the suffix is 
es instead ; as, boxes, fishes. This occurs in words ending 
in the sounds, s, z ; ch, j ; sh, zh. Final e silent, preceded 
by c or g soft, or any of the foregoing, is sounded in the 
plural ; as, horses, bridges, breezes. Some nouns ending in^ 
fe, change the / to its cognate v, and take es to form the 
plural ; as, loaf, loaves. A similar vocalization is heard in 
the plurals, baths, laths, mouths, paths, oaths, wreaths, and a 
few others (not in truths, youths). S is vocalized after vocal 
or vowel sounds ; as, lads, foes. 

85. Nouns ending in a vowel mostly add s in 
the plural. Exceptions : — 

(a) Some nouns in i; as, alkalies, rabbies (or rabbis). 
($) Most nouns in preceded by a consonant ; as, pota- 
toes, cargoes. (Students make a list of exceptions to this.) 



NUMBER OF NOUNS. 65 

(<r) Nouns in y preceded by a consonant'; 2s, flies, ladies. 
(Rule 4 for spelling.) 

For these exceptional cases, see the dictionaries. 

86. Irregular Plurals : — 

(a) Some words merely narrow the vozvel in the plural ; 
as, man, men; lice, feet ', women. 

( K U) A few take the old plural en; as, oxen (fiosen, 
housen); one, children (child-er-en), takes the Saxon (Ger- 
man) plural er, also. (Note kine, swine.) 

(<:) A few nouns have two plurals differing somewhat in 
meaning; as, pennies, pence ; fishes, fish ; dies, dice; brothers, 
brethren ; geniuses, genii. 

(d) A few words are the same in both numbers : sheep, 
deer ; names of fish, game, etc., as, trout, shad, snipe,- wood- 
cock ; also couple, pair, yoke, and the like. Most of these 
have also a regular plural. 

(e) Collectives are singular when the whole is meant, 
plural when the individuals are meant. (See under Syntax.) 
They also have regular plurals ; as, armies, herds. 

(_/") In compound words, the part modified is pluralized ; 
as, mouse-traps, hand-cars, aids-de-camp. If neither part is 
particularly described, or if neither is a noun, the s merely 
is added; as, pail] r uls, forget-me-nots, what-nots. Sometimes 
both are pluralized ; as, men-servants. 

(g) The title and not the surname of compound nouns 
(72, d) is pluralized ; as, the Messrs. Harper, the Misses 
Carey, Generals Grant and Sherman. 

Except Airs, and titles preceded by a numeral ; as, the 
Mrs.. Smiths, the two Miss Careys, the two Dr. Parkers. 

See Prof. S. S. Greene's English Grarnmar, p. 48. 

(h) Proper names generally take s, es ; as, the three Hen- 
rys, Ottos, the two Foxes. Sometimes, however, we find 
Ptolemies, Maries, etc. 



66 ETYMOLOGY. 

(7) Many foreign nouns retain their original plurals ; as, 
genus, genera ; beau, beaux ; datum, data. Some have two 
plurals, often differing in meaning ; as, indexes, indices ; 
c/zerubs, cherubim ; formulas, form nice {/). 

(_/') Characters are pluralizecl by the suffix *s ; as, Cross 
your /\y and dot your i's; two 6's ; +'^. 

(/&) Some nouns are never or rarely plural ; of these are 
mainly : — 

(i) Material nouns; as, gold, wood, leather (note, how- 
ever, different woods, teas, etc.; also irons, coppers, and the 
like). 

(2) Abstract nouns ; as, peace, happiness (but loves, hates, 
journeys?) 

(3) Less rarely, collectives and proper nouns. 

(4) Certain scientific terms in -ics ; as, politics, optics, 
physics. These, though plural in form, are generally used 
in the singular ; as, Optics is the science of light. (See 

Webster, Art. Mathematics?} 

(/) Some nouns are rarely singular ; as, ashes (except in 
chemistry), thanks, victuals, measles ; and especially names 
of double objects ; as, shears, tongs, lights, drawers. 

(jii) Some old inaccuracies have become idiomatic by 
long usage ; as, a ten-foot pole, a four --horse team, forty head 
of cattle, a hundred weight ; so, also, couple, pair, yoke. 
etc. {d). 

Students should look up examples of all the foregoing plurals with 
great care, and make out full lists in each case. This subject is one of the 
unfortunate jungles of which our language has quite too many. 

87. Case, in English, is the relation which a 
noun or pronoun sustains to other words in a sen- 
tence. There are three cases, — uninflected except 
in the possessive and in pronouns. 



CASE OF NOUNS. 67 

83. The Nominative Case usually denotes 
the subject of a proposition. (167.) 

89. The Possessive Case usually denotes 
possession or adaptation ; as, John's coat ; ladies' 
shoes. 

90. The possessive is formed by adding 's to the 
nominative; as, John's, James's* men's. The only 
exceptions are : — 

(1) Plurals in s, to which (') only is added; as, ladies' 
shoes. 

(2) A few idiomatic expressions ; as, " for conscience* 
sake." These should be avoided. 

91. (a) In compound or complex nouns (75), the sign 
is joined to the last word ; as, Gen. U. S. Grant's; "The 
king-of- Israel's army." 

(^) When joint possession is denoted, the sign is added 
to the last name only ; as, Smith 6° Jones" s store. 

(c) When separate possession is denoted, the sign is added 
to each name ; as, Webster's and Worcester's dictionaries. 

(//) In appositives the sign is added to the word nearest 
the name of the object possessed ; as, " for David my serv- 
ant's sake." But we say, "at Smith the bookseller } s," or "at 
Smith's, the bookseller ;" generally the former. 

The possessive 's is never es. It is vocalized or makes an additional 
syllable according to (84) . When the 's would bring too many sibilants 
together, as "Moses's," " fes7ts's," (Abbott's Jestts of Nazareth), the 
expression, though correct,*' should be changed, and of employed ; as, 
the writings of Moses, — never Moses' writings. 

* Those who still insist that these are not correct, should make a list 
-of all the possessives of words in s that they can find for three months in 
some of our well-edited periodicals, — say Harfier's, Scrtbner's, and the 
A tlantic, — and then abide the result. Good usage is the law of lan- 
guage. 



68 ETYMOLOGY. 

92. The Objective Case is the object of an 
action or a relation ; as, he struck John ; he ran 
dXjohn. 

93. The Declension of a noun or pronoun is a 
connected view of its inflections. Substantives not 
inflected are indeclinable. 

Declension of Nouns. 





Singular. 


Plural. 


Nom. 


f man, boy, horse, 
I lady, Adams. 


f men, boys, horses, 
I ladies, Adamses. 


Obj. 


Poss. 


man's, boy's, horse's, 


men's, boys', horses', 




lady's, Adams's. 


ladies', Adamses'. 




Pronoun. 





94. A Pronoun is a word generally used instead 
of another substantive called its antecedent (See 
in.) There are five classes of pronouns, — Per- 
sonal, Possessive, Relative, Interrogative, Adjective. 

(1) Personal Pronouns. 

95. Personal Pronouns especially indicate 
the grammatical persons. They are : — 

(a) Simple, — /, thou, you, he, she, it, with 
their inflections. 

(b) Compound, — formed by the addition of 
-self, -selves, to some of the simple pronouns ; as 
myself, ourselves. They are inflected only for 
number. 



PERSONAL PRONOUNS. 69 

96. Declension of Personal Pronouns. 



Singular. 


First Per. 


Second Per. 


Third Per. 


Nom* 


I 


thou, you 


he, she, it 


Poss. 


my 


thy, your 


his, her, its 


Obj. 


me 


thee, you 


him, her, it 


Plural. 








Nom. 


we 


ye, you 


they 


Poss. 


our 


your 


their 


Obj. 


us 


you 


them 



97. (a) Mine, thine, are sometimes used before vowel 
sounds, or in poetry, instead of my, thy. 

(Ji) We, ye, very rarely occur in the objective ; as, " You 
must ride on horseback after we." " Vain pomp and glory 
of this world, I hate ye ! " 

(p) Thou, ye, are obsolete except in solemn, lofty, or 
poetical expressions. 

(V) " We " (" filuralis majesticus"}, used by a single 
person in editorials, books, edicts, etc., is little employed in 
this country except by the newspapers. 

(e) It has a variety of uses : — 

(1) Primarily, to stand for a neuter substantive. 

(2) As an indefinite subject or predicate-nominative ; as, 
"//is // " "That is ii; n — often explained by some other 
word, phrase, or clause, in the sentence ; as, "It is hard to 
believe that (i.e., To believe that is hard). 

(3) Impersonally, to denote the condition of things, time, 
object, etc.; as, it rains; it grew cold; it is ten o'clock; 
" Come and trip it as you go." 

(2) Possessive Pronouns. 

98. The possessive forms, mine, ours, thine, 
yours, his, hers, its, theirs, have a certain indefinable 



70 ETYMOLOGY. 

use (generally instead of the regular possessive case 
and the name of the object possessed ; as, that 
book is yours, i.e., your book) ; " This stubborn 
heart of mine ; " the apple is hers ; a habit of his. 
These, except the forms common to both, are never 
used in the possessive case (hers book), and they 
may be most readily disposed of by calling them 
Possessive Pronouns. 

(3) Relative Pronouns. 

99. A Relative Pronoun represents some ex- 
pression or idea in a preceding clause to which it 
connects its own clause. There are two classes of 
relatives, Simple and Compound. 

100. The Simple Relative Pronouns are 
used in but one case at the same time. They are 
who, which, what (rarely), that, and as. 

(a) Who is applied only to persons, and to things per- 
sonified ; it is the only relative inflected, — Norn, who, Poss. 
whose, Obj. whom. Whose is often used as the possessive 
of which and that. 

(b) Which is applied only to objects inferior to man. 
(Its use as in the Lord's Prayer is now obsolete.) 

(c) That may sometimes replace either who or which. 

(d) What is applied to things only. 

(e) As is commonly called a relative after such, same, 
many, and, generally, after as much; as, Give me such books 
as are needed. But it may, also, in such cases be disposed 
of as a conjunction, and analogy would seem to favor the 



INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS. 7 1 

latter method. (Compare : I had as much as was needed ; 
I had more than was needed.) 

ioi. It is important to note two special uses of who, 
which, that ' — 

(a) Restrictive, limiting to the one view given ; as, The 
schools which are closed were failures ; Snow that falls in 
spring is soon melted. 

(Ji) Explanatory, defining or explaining; as, The schools, 
which are all closed, were failures ; Snow, which is a form 
of water, crystallizes in six-sided prisms. (Compare : The 
pupils, who were studious, made rapid progress ; The pupils 
who were studious made rapid progress.) (See Punctua- 
tion.) 

102. The Compound Relative Pronouns 

are used in two cases at the same time. They are 
mostly derived from the simple relatives by the 
suffix -ever or -soever. They are whoever, whoso- 
ever, what, whatever, whatsoever, whichever, which- 
soever, and sometimes whoso ; possibly, also, in a 
few cases, who, which, that ; as, " That thou doest, 
do quickly." 

Whoever, whosoever, are declined ; the others are inde- 
clinable. 

(4) Interrogative Pronouns. 

103. Interrogative Pronouns are used in 
asking questions. They are who, which, what, and 
formerly whether. Who is declined, the rest are 
indeclinable. 



72 ETYMOLOGY. 

104. Who is used only of persons ; which, what, of 
both persons and things. Who, what, inquire about the 
unknown ; which asks to select from the known. 

105. Who, which, what, used in answer to a question 
and in similar circumstances, have been called Responsive 
Pronouns; as, I know who it was. They are construed 
like the compound relatives (102). 

(5) Adjective Pronouns. 

106. An Adjective Pronoun may be used 
without a noun as a pronoun or with a noun as an 
adjective. There are three classes : — (a) Distrib- 
utive, (b) Demonstrative, (c) Indefinite. 

107. (a) The Distributives denote objects 
taken singly. They are each, every, either, neither, 

108. (b) The Demonstratives denote objects 
definitely. They are this, these, that, those, former, 
latter , first, last, same. 

109. (c) The Indefinites denote objects in- 
definitely. They are all, another, any, both, few, 
many, more, most, much, none, one, other, same, 
such ; and, perhaps, certain, divers, several. 

1 10. This, that, have plurals ; either, neither, for7ner, 
latter, first, last, another, have possessives, and, with one* 
other, which are declined, are the only pronouns that take 
the suffix 's. 

These adjective pronouns are not nouns, as too often parsed, since 
they are not names, and cannot be denned as such. They are not adjec- 
tives used as nouns (121, b) , as a moment's comparison will show. A 
noun is not to be supplied after them (except by obvious ellipsis); in 



ADJECTIVE. 73 

fact one cannot always be supplied, as in the last two examples below. 
In a word, they are downright pronouns. 

Farewell, my friends ! farewell, my foes ! 
My peace with these, my love with those. — Bums. 
"Others said, That it is Elias." 
" Bear ye one another's burdens." 

in. The Antecedent is that for which a pro- 
noun stands; as, John lost his book. It may be a 
word, phrase, clause, sentence, thought, or idea. 
(See under Syntax.) 

Adjective. 

112. An Adjective is a word used generally to 
qualify or limit the meaning of a substantive. 
There are two principal classes, — Descriptive, De- 
finitive. 

113. A Descriptive Adjective expresses 
quality. Four classes have been described : — 

(1) A Common Adjective is any ordinary 
descriptive word ; as, good, wise. 

(2) A Proper Adjective is derived from a 
proper noun ; as, American, Clwiese. 

(3) A Participial Adjective is a participle 
used as an adjective ; as, loving words, learned 
men. 

(4) A Compound Adjective consists of two 
or more words joined by a hyphen ; as, nut-brown, 
la ugh ter -loving. 

114. A Definitive Adjective merely limits 
without describing. There are three classes : — 



74 ETYMOLOGY. 

(i) An Article is the word ah, a, or the. An, 
a, is the indefinite article ; the, the definite article. 
These are put in a separate class merely for con- 
venience. 

An is used before a vowel sound, or a slight sound of h 
(generally unaccented) ; as, an arm, an hour, an heroic ac- 
tion, an historic event. (Or, a heroic, historic. See Worces- 
ter, under an.) 

An becomes a before all other consonant sounds ; as, a 
man, a unit, a eulogy, many a one. 

An, a, are often mere prefixes ; as, " a-w-hungered," 
tf-weary, " Poor Tom's #-cold." 

An, a, sometimes retain much of their original meaning, 
one; as, " an hundred weight," " six cents a pound." 

For a, preposition, an, conjunction, see (152, b) and 

(162). 

The is often said to be an adverb ; as, The more the 
merrier. 

(2) A Numeral Adjective expresses definite 
number. There are three divisions : — 

(a) Cardinal, expressing how many; as, one, 
six, twenty. 

(b) Ordinal, expressing order, rank; as, first, 
sixth, twentieth. 

(e) Multiplicative, expressing how many 
fold ; as, single, sextuple, twenty-fold. 

(3) A Pronominal Adjective is one that 
may be used without its noun as a pronoun. There 
are three divisions : — 



ADJECTIVE. 75 

(a) Distributives, denoting objects separately ; 
as, each, every, either, neither. 

(b) Demonstratives, denoting objects defi- 
nitely; as, this, these, that, those, first, last, former, 
latter, same. 

(c) Indefinites, denoting objects indefinitely. 
They are : all, another, any, both, cei'tain, else, 
(enough ?), few, little, many, more, much, (no), 
none, one, only, other, own, several, some, such, 
sundry, what, whatever, whatsoever, which, which- 
ever, whichsoever, (yon, yonder) . 

115. Comparison is the inflection of an adjec- 
tive to express different degrees of quality or limita- 
tion. There are three degrees of comparison, — 
(a) Positive, (b) Comparative, (c) Superlative. 

(a) The Positive Degree denotes the simple 
state of the quality or limitation ; as, good, bad, 
happy, much. 

(b) The Comparative Degree denotes a 
higher or lower state of the quality or limitation ; 
as, better, worse, happier, more. 

(c) The Superlative Degree denotes the 
highest or lowest state of the quality or limitation ; 
best, worst, happiest, most. 

Some superlatives, perhaps some comparatives, seem rather 
to denote emphasis than degree (119, b). 

116. Sub-Positive is a convenient term for a form that 
denotes some of the quality indicated ; as, bluish, reddish. 
(See -ish, under Suffixes?) 



76 ETYMOLOGY. 

117. Adjectives are regularly inflected by the 
suffixes -er for the comparative, and -est for the 
superlative ; as, happy, happier, happiest. Those 
so compared are mostly monosyllables, rarely dis- 
syllables accented (generally) on the penult, almost 
never trisyllables. 

118. Many adjectives are said to be irregularly 
compared, when some of their regular forms are 
wanting and are replaced by other words ; as, bad, 
worse, worst ; also good, little, much, and others. 

119. Most adjectives of two syllables, and nearly 
all of more, are not compared. This is especially 
true of such as express qualities that do not admit 
of different degrees ; as, square, equal, dead, weekly, 
English. 

120. (a) Some of these have a sort of comparison by 
prefixing more, less, most, least ; but in such cases it is really 
the adverb that is compared. 

(Jj) Other adjectives whose meaning does not admit of 
comparison, are yet often compared for emphasis ; as, sa- 
premest, most universal, " extremest verge," " most perfect 
law ; " " The deadest piece of ironmongery in the trade." — 
Dickens. 

121. (a) Any word used as an adjective is to be treated 
as such ; as, the then ruler, the above words, a gold watch ; 
the town is near the river, nearer the river, nearest the 
river ; "The waves behind rush on the waves before." 

(b) An adjective often becomes a noun, usually as the 
name of a class ; as, the good, the wise, the great. Pronomi- 
nals rarely become nouns, but pronouns : " Many are called 
hut few chosen ; " Much was said but little done. 



TOPICAL REVIEW. 



III. — ETYMOLOGY. 



(B, C) Classes and Properties of Words. 

A Part of Speech. 
Inflection. 



Noun. 
(a) Proper. 
(^) Common. 

(;;/) Collective. 

(11) Abstract. 
(V) Verbal. 
Proper become common. 
Common become proper. 
Personification. 
Properties. 

1. Gender. 

(a) Masc.|(V) Com. 

(b) Fern. |(V)Neut. 
Special cases. 
Formation. 

2. Person. 

O) First. 
(£) Second. 
(0 Third. 
(Note.) 

Declension. 



Number. 

(a) Singular. 

(b) Plural. 
Regular in s. 

Special cases 
Irregular. 
Case. 
(#) Nominative. 
(b) Possessive sign, 

etc. 
(V) Objective. 



78 ETYMOLOGY 




II. Pronoun. 






i. Personal. 


4- 


Interrogative. 


(#) Simple. 




(Responsive.) 


(J?) Compound. 


5- 


Adjective. 


Special words. 




{a) Distributive. 


2. Possessive. 




(£) Demonstrative 


3. Relative. 




(r) Indefinite. 


{a) Simple. 


Antecedent. 


Special words. 






(3) Compound. 






III. Adjective. 






(m) Descriptive. 






I. Common. 


3- 


Participial. 


2. Proper. 


4- 


Compound. 


(n) Definitive. 






1. Article. 


3- 


Pronominal. 


{a) Definite. 




(#) Distributive. 


(<£) Indefinite. . 




(/;) Demonstrative 


Uses of a> the. 




(<:) Indefinite. 


2. Numerals. 






(a) Cardinal. 






(£) Ordinal. 






(c) Multiplicative. 






Comparison. 






Degree. 






(#) Positive. 




Regular, Irregular. 


(J>) Comparative. 




Not compared. 


(c) Superlative. 




By more, less, etc. 


(Sub-positive.) 




For emphasis. 


Adjective used as a Noun 







VERB. 79 



Verb. 



122. A Verb expresses action, being, or state; 
as, run, is, are loved. Other parts of speech are 
sometimes used as verbs \ as, " Don't thee and thou 
me " ; to " out-Herod Herod." 

A verb with a preposition closely joined to it is called a 
Compound Verb ; as, to be laughed at, spoken to, is called 
after. 

123. Preliminary Definitions. 

(1) The Infinitive expresses the action, being, or state, 
in a general or unlimited manner, and is commonly preceded 
by the preposition to ; as, to go, to hear, to be. The present 
infinitive is the root-form of the verb ; go, run, be. 

(2) The Present Indicative is the simplest form for 
expressing a present fact ; as, I run, go, eat, am. 

(3) The Past Indicative, or Preterit, is the simplest 
form for expressing a past fact ; as, I ran, went, ate, was. 

(4) A Participle is a form of the verb resembling an 
adjective or a noun ; as, being, going, gone. 

(a) The Present Participle denotes the continuance of 
the action, being, or state ; as, being, loving, doing. It ends 
in -ingt 

(Jf) The Perfect Participle denotes the completion of 
the action, being, or state ; as, been, gone, loved. This is 
sometimes called the Passive Participle. 

(5) The Principal Parts of a verb are four: the pres- 
ent indicative, the past indicative, the prese7tt participle, the 
perfect participle ; as, go, went, going, gone, — so called be- 
cause, by means of these, all the inflections of the verb are 
formed. (It is usual to give only three of these ; as, go, 
went, gone?) 



80 ETYMOLOGY. 

(6) Auxiliary Verbs, or simply Auxiliaries, are the 
small verbs used in forming the verb-phrases, or " compound 
forms" of the verb. They are can, could ; do, did ; may, 
might ; shall, should ; will, would ; and the parts of be or 
am and have. 

Classification of Verbs. 

124. A verb may be classified in four ways : — 
(1) with reference to its form ; (2) with reference 
to its object; (3, 4) with reference to its subject. 

( 1 ) With reference to its form, a verb may be 
either (a) of the Strong or Old Conjugation; (b) 
of the Weak or New Conjugation. 

(a) In the Strong Conjugation the verb 
forms its preterit and perfect participle by a change 
of the vowel of the verb-root (with sometimes the 
addition of en, n, for the participle) ; as, bind, 
bound, bound; give, gave, given ; come, came, come. 

(b) In the Weak Conjugation the verb forms 
its preterit and perfect participle by the addition of 
ed, d, (or /) to the verb-root \ as, love, loved; % hear, 
heard; leave, left; work, wrought; — a few verbs, 
already having the d or t termination, remain un- 
changed ; as, let, let, let (p. 96, Class IV.). 

Verbs of the Weak Conjugation may be divided 
into two classes : — 

(x) Regular, — those that take the suffix ed 
(Rule 6 of Spelling) \ as, love, loved, 

(j>) Irregular, — those that take d 9 /, or remain 



CLASSIFICATION OF VERBS. 8x 

unchanged ; as, hear, heard ; bless, blest ; let, let. 
In these there is often, also, a change of the root- 
vowel, of vocal to aspirate, etc. ; as, leave, left. 

The ed does not form a separate syllable ; as, loved, 
feared; — except after t or d ; as, hated, landed; — and in 
a few adjectives ; as, aght, learned, blessed. The termina- 
tion was formerly a distinct syllable. 

The ^/-sound is aspirate or vocal according as it follows 
an aspirate or a vocal ; piped, asked ; loved, turned, lifted. 

The ed is thought to be a contraction of did (seen in the 
Gothic); thus, loved '= love-did, contracted loved; heard = 
hear-did, contracted heard, etc. All verbs that show this 
change, or this termination, belong to the Weak Conjuga- 
tion. (See List, p. 95.) 

For the details of these conjugations, see Whitney's Essentials, pp. 
107-116; for the history, see Lounsbury's English Language, Chap. V. 

[While the foregoing classification, now adopted by our 
leading grammarians, will doubtless before long supercede 
the old one into Regular, Irregular, etc., the latter is here 
appended for convenience of reference.* 

The ordinary classification divides verbs according to their 
form into {a) Regular, {b) Irregular, (f) Redundant, (d) 
Defective. 

{a) A Regular Verb forms its past tense and perfect 
participle by the suffix ed; as, feared, loved (Rule 6 of 
Spelling.) If the suffix is d only, the verb is not regular ; 
as, heard. 



* The terms Regular and Irregular, found generally in English gram- 
mars, are scientifically incorrect, because they blend in one class the 
strong verbs and the anomalous verbs of the weak conjugation. — 

LOUNSBURY. 



82 ETYMOLOGY. 

(£) An Irregular Verb does not form its past tense and 
perfect participle by the suffix ed ; as, given, fought. ■ 

Regular verbs correspond to the regular class of the Weak Conjuga- 
tion; irregular verbs to the Strong Conjugation and the irregular class 
of the Weak. See List, pp. 93-96.) 

(r) A Redundant Verb has more than one form for the 
same part ; as, be, am ; hanged, hung. 

(d) A Defective Verb lacks some of its principal parts ; 
as, may, might ; ought ; can, could.~] 

(2) With reference to its object, a verb may be 
(a) Transitive, (JS) Intransitive. 

(a) A Transitive Verb requires an object to 
complete the sense ; as, John stritck him ; she sung 
a song. 

(b) An Intransitive Verb does not require 
an object to complete the sense ; as, John struck; 
she sung. 

Young students sometimes supply a preposition, making 
a verb intransitive which is really transitive ; He walked the 
floor ; paced his rounds ; fled his country ; wends his way ; 
seeks his friends ; " Homeward the ploughman plods his 
weary way." Verbs in such idioms are transitive ; so in 
"Come, and trip it as you go"; "He played me false"; 
to co?ne a joke on one. 

(3) With reference to its subject, a verb may be 
(a, F) Active or Passive ; {m, n) Finite or Not 
Finite. 

(a) An Active Verb represents its subject as 
acting ; as, he reads, kills, eats. 



PROPERTIES OF VERBS. 8$ 

(b) A Passive Verb represents its subject as 
receiving the act; as, the book is read; he was 
killed ; it is eaten. 

The term Neuter is sometimes applied to a verb which 
expresses merely being or state ; as, is, become. Is is some- 
times called the substantive verb. 

(4) (m) A verb is Finite when it has a sub- 
ject in the nominative case. 

(71) A verb is Not Finite when it has no 
subject-nominative. The verbs not finite are the 
infinitive and the participle. 

125. A few verbs having the indefinite subject it (97, e, 3) 
are called Impersonal Verbs; as, it rains ; it seems good; 
meseems (i.e., it seems to me); methinks (it thinks to me). 
These are sometimes called unipersonal. 

126. The term Reflexive is sometimes applied to a verb 
when the actor acts upon himself ; as, he cut himself; they 
wash themselves ; I hurt me. 

Causative Verbs indicate the producing of the act or 
state shown by the root of the verb ; as, shorten, liquefy, 
assimilate, civilize ;' to fell a tree, to fly a kite. 

Frequentative verbs denote repetition of the act or state ; 
as, sparkle. 

These terms are not of much importance in English. 

Properties of Verbs. 

127. Verbs are inflected to denote voice, mode, 
tense, person, number, and form. 

128. Voice is that property of verbs which shows 
whether the subject acts or receives the act. There 



84 ETYMOLOGY. 

are two voices, Active and Passive, as defined above 
(124,^3, a, b). Active verbs are either Transitive 
or Intransitive (124, 2). In strictness, only transi- 
tive verbs can become passive, the object' of the 
active becoming the subject of the passive, and 
receiving the act ; as, active, John struck James ; 
passive, James was struck by John. 

For the " passive form," see 136, c. 

129. Mode relates to the manner of the asser- 
tion. There are four modes, (a) Indicative, (b) 
Subjunctive, (c) Potential, (d) Iniperative. 

If the iiifinitive is a mode, the participle is also. It is 
best to limit mode to finite verbs. 

(a) The Indicative Mode asserts or questions 
in regard to a fact ; as, he was there ; was he there ? 

(b) The Subjunctive Mode represents a 
mental conception of what is supposed, contingent, 
desirable, and the like ; as, — 

" Were all the realm of nature mine, 
That were an offering all too small." 

" Oh, had I the wings of a dove ! " 

The subjunctive has pretty much gone out of use, the indicative mostly 
taking its place. 

(c) The Potential Mode asserts or questions in 
regard to what is possible, obligatory, and the like, 
as indicated by may, can, must, might, could, would, 
should; as, may go ; can do. 



PROPERTIES OF VERBS. 85 

In strictness, the principal verb in the so-called potential 
is an infinitive, the may, can, etc., being in the indicative ; 
as, he can (to) do it. That is, the " potential " is needless, 
and should be set aside. So all our best late grammarians. 

(d) The Imperative Mode commands, de- 
mands, entreats ; permits ; as, go ; let me ; give. 

130. Tense relates to the time indicated by the 
verb. There are three divisions of time, present, 
past, future; and in each of these an event may be 
going on or completed, giving six tenses. 

131. The Indicative has six tenses : — 

(1) Present, denoting present continuance. 

• (2) Present Perfect, denoting present completion. 

(3) Past, denoting past continuance. 

(4) Past Perfect, denoting past completion. 

(5) Future, denoting future continuance. 

(6) Future Perfect, denoting future completion. 
Examples. — (1) reads, is reading; (2) has read, has 

been reading ; (3) read, was reading ; (4) had read, had 
been reading; (5) will read, shall read, will be reading ; 
(6) will have read, will have been reading. 

Note the difference : I shall go, you will go, he will go ; 
I will go, you shall go, he shall go. One of the commonest 
mistakes of writers now-a-days, is the disregard of this dis- 
tinction. 

132. The Potential has four tenses : — 

(1) Present, indicated by may, can, must. 

(2) Present Perfect, indicated by may have, can have, 
must have. 

(3) Past, indicated by might, could, zvould, should. 



86 ETYMOLOGY. 

(4) Past Perfect, indicated by might have, could have, 
would have, should have. 

133. The Subjunctive has four tenses ; some say 
only two (1 and 3, below); some say six, like the 
indicative. 

(1) Present; as, if it be so ; " If ye love me." 

(2) Present Perfect ; as, " If his master have given him 
a wife." 

(3) Past ; as, if it were so ; had I wings. 

(4) Past Perfect ; as, had I been there ; " Oh, that thou 
h~adst known" 

See a multitude of examples in Exodus, xxi. sag., and Le- 
viticus. 

134. The Imperative has one so-called tense : — 

Present; 2& f go; run; do so. The action is always to be, 
— a sort of future. 

135. Person and Number are properties of 
the verb to agree with the corresponding properties 
of its subject. There are three persons and two 
numbers in verbs as in substantives. 

(a) In common language the only person-and- 
number inflection is in the third person singular; 
as, I go, you go, we go; he goes. The suffix s, es, 
is added as in plurals (84). Even this is lost in 
true subjunctives ; as, if he come. Am is an excep- 
tion ; as, I am, you are, he is. 

(b) In the "solemn " or "ancient style" 



PROPERTIES OF VERBS. 87 

the second person singular ends in st, est; the third 
in th, eth; as, thou dost, go est, he doth, goefh. 

(e) The imperative is generally of the second 
person, singular or plural, its subject rarely ex- 
pressed ; as, go (thou, you) ; do so. 

Occasionally it is of the first or third person, subject ex- 
pressed ; as, "Come, tread we a measure;" "Turn we to 
survey ;" " Blessed be he ;" (" Blessed be thou, O Lord ! ") ; 
" Thy kingdom come, thy will be done." 

Some grammarians supply let; as, let thy will be done. 
But the absurdity of the explanation is shown in " let lie be 
blessed." Others supply may ; as, ?nay he be blessed, — 
which is manifestly a different and vastly weaker form of 
expression. Let us explain things as we find them. 

136. A verb or verb-phrase may take several 
different forms : — 

(a) The Common Form is the simplest form 
of the active or neuter verb ; as, goes, went, has 
gone, may go. 

(b) The Progressive Form denotes contin- 
uance of the action or state. It is formed by some 
part of the verb be with the present participle ; as, 
is going, was going, has been going, may be going. 

In such expressions as, "The bridge is building" "The 
book is printing" " Great exertions were making" the 
present participle has a quasi-passive signification. No 
idiom in the language is better authorized ; but of late it 
has been forced to give place to the uncouth form, is being 
built, is being printed. The grammarians have fought the 



88 ETYMOLOGY. 

new-comer desperately, but without avail ; and, although 
the earlier form is far more elegant and should alone be 
employed in any higher style of composition, the later is 
certainly now firmly established under the sanction of writers 
of every degree of excellence. 

(c) The Passive Form is formed by some 
part of the verb be and the perfect participle ; as, is 
gone, has been gone, may be gone. 

In transitive verbs this constitutes the Passive Voice ; in 
intransitive verbs it is called the Passive Form. Note the 
difference between is killed and is gone, was taught and was 
pled, is destroyed and is come. Some writers hold that is 
gone, is co?ne, etc., are incorrect, and should be has gone, 
has come; but the two forms convey somewhat different 
ideas. 

137. The progressive form may be resolved into the pres- 
ent participle and the verb be ; the passive for m into the per- 
fect participle and the verb be. That is, instead of consid- 
ering has been running, has been killed, a single verb-form, 
has been may be taken as the true verb-form, and running) 
killed, as participial forms. More and more of our best late 
grammarians are adopting this view. It is strictly accurate, 
no doubt ; but whether it is best thus at one stroke to sweep 
away half the conjugation of any language admits of serious 
question. (Compare the compound forms in Latin, Greek, 
German, French, and the rest.) 

138. The Emphatic Form makes use of do, 
did, only in the imperative, and the present and past 
indicative ; as, do go ; I do go; I did go. It is really 
an indicative and an infinitive, as shown under the 
potential (129, c) ; I do (to) go, did (to) go. 



INFINITIVES AND PARTICIPLES. 89 

The so-called Interrogative Form is merely an inver- 
sion of words in asking a question ; as, do I go ? may he go ? 
The Negative Form employs the adverb not ; as, I do not 
go. The last two are no more verb-forms than a hundred 
similar ones would be, like "Loud roared the blast"; "I 
would gladly go." 

Infinitives and Participles. 

139. The Infinitive. (See definition, 123, 1.) 
There are two infinitives : — 

(1) The Present Infinitive expresses the 
action, etc., in a general way, or as present or future 
at the time referred to ; as, I like to read; I intend, 
intended, shall endeavor, to be there (not " intended 
to have been "). 

(2) The Perfect Infinitive expresses the ac- 
tion as completed at the time referred to ; as, He 
appears, appeared, to have done it well ; I ought to 
have made up my mind before. 

Those who separate " made " here as a participle merely 
(137), note the difference between "to have made up my 
mind " and " to have my mind made up." 

The to is no part of the infinitive, but a preposition gov- 
erning it ; another definition of the infinitive being " A verbal 
noun, expressing in noun-form the action or condition which 
the verb asserts " ( Whitney'). 

To is generally omitted after bid, dare, feel, have, 
hear, let, make, need, see ; also frequently after help, 
please, equivalents of see, and some others ; as, I 
saw him (to) do it ; please (to) write. 



90 ETYMOLOGY. 

So, also, in strictness, in such compounds as, do 
(to) go, shall (to) go, may (to) go (129, c; 138). 

140. The Participle. (See definition 123, 4.) 
There are three participles : — 

(1) The Present Participle represents the 
continuance of the action at the time referred to ; 
as, I see, saw, him playing. It always ends in ing. 

(2) The Perfect Participle represents the 
action as completed at or before the time referred 
to 1 as, given, done, loved. 

This is also called the Past or Passive Par- 
ticiple ; but the passive meaning, as in is given, is 
now quite distinct from the active, as in has given, 
whatever the origin may have been. 

(3) The Compound Participle denotes pre- 
vious completion at the time referred to ; as, having 
done, having been killed, — more properly called 
past participle. 

141. The infinitive or participle used strictly as a noun is 
called a verbal noun (71, c). 

The participle in ing, when used as a verbal noun, or in 
analogous constructions (71, c, 72, b), is called by some a 
second infinitive, since this infinitive ing comes from the old 
infinitive suffix -an ; as, drincan, to drink, — while the par- 
ticipial ing comes from the old participial suffix -ende, -and(e), 
-ind(e). It is so often impossible practically to make this 
distinction, that it seems hardly worth while to introduce it 
into our treatment of the modern verb. (For the opposite 
view, see Bain's Grammar and Composition, pp. 168-178.) 



SYNOPSIS. 



91 



142. Conspectus of the 


Infinitive and 


the Participle. 




Common Form. 


Progressive Form. 


Passive Form. 


Infinitive. 








Pres. 


[to] go 


[to] be going 


[to] be gone. 


Perf. 


[to] have 


[to] have been 


[to] have been 




gone 


going 


gone. 


Participle. 








Pres. 


reading 


[being reading!] 


being read. 


Perf. 


read* 


been reading* 


f read. ") 
I been read.* J 


Comp. 


having read 


having been 


having been 






reading 


read. 



143. The Synopsis of a verb is a brief outline of its 
inflection ; usually its root, principal parts, first person sin- 
gular in each tense of the various modes, and its infinitives 
and participles, — the whole through all the forms. 

The pupil should drill thoroughly on the synopsis of 
various verbs, beginning with am and have, and going 
through the first person (p. 92), then the second, then 
the third, till the full conjugation (144) of any verb in 
any form can readily be given. 



* Used only in the compound tenses; as, has read, has been read' 
ing, has been read. 

f A possible form, almost never used : — 

To whom being goings almost spent with hunger. — Shak. 



9 2 



ETYMOLOGY. 



Synopsis of Love. 
Root, love; Prin. Parts, love, loved, loving, loved. 



Tense. 


Sign. 


Com. 
Form. 


Progressive. 


Passive. 


Indie. 










Pres. 




love 


am loving 


am loved 


Pr. P. 


have 


loved 


been loving 


been loved 


Past. 




loved 


was loving 


was loved 


P'st P. 


had 


loved 


been loving 


been loved 


Fut. 


shall, will 


love 


be loving 


be loved 


Fut.P. 


shall, will have 


loved 


been loving 


been loved 


Subj. 










Pres. [If, etc.] 


love 


be loving 


be loved 


Pr. P. 


have 


loved 


been loving 


been loved 


Past. 




loved 


were loving 


were loved 


P'st P. 


had 


loved 


been loving 


been loved 


Poten. 










Pres. 


may, etc. 


love 


be loving 


be loved 


Pr. P. 


may have, etc. 


loved 


been loving 


been loved 


Past. 


might, etc. 


love 


be loving 


be loved 


P'st P. 


might have, etc. 


loved 


been loving 


been loved 


Imper. 










Pres. 


(do) 


love 


be loving 


be loved 



Infinitives and Participles as in (142). 

144. The Conjugation of a verb is its full in- 
flection. It is what the synopsis would become if 
extended through all the persons of both numbers. 

In the following tables of the conjugations, forms inclosed in paren- 
theses, though employed, are generally not of approved authority; in a 
few cases, as sung, satig — rung, rang, usage seems about evenly di- 
vided. Words marked (*) are partly of the weak and partly of the strong 



VERBS OF THE STRONG CONJUGATION. 93 

conjugation. The abbreviation p. denotes the preterit ; pp., the perfect 
participle ; ed or en, that the part takes, also, that ending. Usage varies 
exceedingly in these matters, and, in several instances, the form here 
preferred may not be thought the best. Consult the dictionaries ; and, 
especially, study late writers of acknowledged standing. 



I. Verbs of the Strong Conjugation. 

Class I. — Perfect participle in en, n; root- vowel changed. This might 
be called the regular strong form. 



arise 


arose 


arisen 


rise 


rose 


risen 


beat 


beat 


beaten 


see 


saw 


seen 


befall 


befell 


befallen 


shake 


shook 


shaken 


beget 


begot 


begotten 


show* 


showed 


shown 




(begat) 


(begot) 


shrive 


shrove 


shriven 


bid 


bade (bid) 


bidden (bid) 


slay 


slew 


slain 


bite 


bit 


bitten (bit) 


slide 


slid 


slidden 


blow 


blew 


blown 






(slid) 


break 


broke 


broken 


smite 


smote 


smitten 




(brake) 


(broke) 






(smit) 


chide 


chid 


chidden 


sow* 


sowed 


sown 




(chode) 


(chid) 


speak 


spoke 


spoken 


choose 


chose 


chosen 




(spake) 


(spoke) 


draw 


drew 


drawn 


steal 


stole 


stolen 


drive 


drove 


driven 


stride 


strode 


stridden 


eat 


ate (eat) 


eaten (eat) 




(strid) 


(strid) 


fall 


fell 


fallen 


strive 


strove 


striven (ed) 


*y 


flew 


flown 


swear 


swore 


sworn 


forget 


forgot 


forgotten 




(sware) 






(forgat) 


(forgot) 


take 


took 


taken 


forsake 


forsook 


forsaken 


tare 


tore 


torn 


freeze 


froze 


frozen 


thrive 


throve (ed) thriven (ed) 


give 


gave 


given 


throw 


threw 


thrown 


grave * 


graved 


graven 
(graved) 


tread 


trod(^) 


trodden 
(trod) 


grow 


grew 


grown 


wear 


wore 


worn 


hide 


hid 


hidden (hid) 


weave 


wove 


woven 


know 


knew 


known 






(wove) 


lie 


lay 


lain 


write 


wrote 


written 


ride 


rode (rid) 


ridden (rid) 




(writ) 


(writ) 



94 



ETYMOLOGY. 



Class II. — Preterit and perfect participle alike ; root- vowel changed. 



abide, abode 

behold, beheld 

bereave, bereft (ed ) 

bind, bound 

cleave, (to split) 
/. cleft (clave, clove) 
pp. cleft (ed, cloven) 

cling, clung 

dig, dug (ed) 

flight, fought 

find, found 

fling, flung 

get, got (pp. gotten) 

grind, ground 



hang, hung (ed) 
hold, held (en) 
shine, shone (ed) 
shrink, shrunk 

(p. shrank, 

//. shrunken) 
shrive, shrove (en) 
sing, sung (/. sang) 
sink, sunk (p. sank) 
sit, sat (p. sate) 
slide, slid (pp. slidden) 
sling, slung (/. slang) 
slink, slunk (p. slank) 
spin, spun 



spring, sprung 

(/. sprang) 
stand, .stood 
stick, stuck 
sting, stung 
stink, stunk (p. stank) 
strike, struck 

(//. stricken) 
string, strung 

(//. stringed) 
swing, swung 
win, won 
wind, wound 
wring, wrung 



Class III. — Preterit and perfect participle different, or one or both 
wanting ; root-vowel or root itself changed. 



am, be 


was 


been 


may* 


might 


awake * 


awoke 


awaked 


(mote) 








(awoke) 


must 


must 


bear 


bore 


borne 


ought * 


ought 




(bare) 


(born) 




quoth 


become 


became 


become 


ring 


rang (rung) rung 


begin 


began 


begun 


run 


ran (run) run 




(begun) 




shall* 


should 


can* 


could 




swim 


swam swum 


come 


came 


come 




(swum) 


do 


did 


done 


will* 


would. 


drink 


drank 


drunk 


wis 


wist 






(drank) 


wit (infinitive) 


forbear 


forbore 


forborne 


wot 






(forbare] 


1 


worth (imperative) 


go 


went 


gone 







* Perhaps these words in Class III. should be placed entirely in the 
weak conjugation. See Lounsbury's admirable treatment of them, Eng. 
Language, pp. 338-346. 



VERBS OF THE WEAK CONJUGATION. 93 



II. Verbs of the Weak Conjugation. 

Class I. — Regular, — preterit and perfect participle in ed. This class 
constitutes the great bulk of our verbs. 

Class II. — Regular, as in Class I., but with another form sometimes 
employed. 



bend (t) 
bereave (t) 
bless (t) 
burn (t) 
cleave (to cling) 

(p. clave) 
clothe (p., pp. clad) 
climb (clomb) 
crow (p. crew) 
dare (p. durst) 
dream (if) 

engrave (pp. engraven) 
freight (//. fraught) 
gild (t) 
heave {p. hove, //. 

hove, hoven) 



hew {pp. hewn) 

lade (//. laden) 

leap (t) 

lean (t) 

learn (t) 

light {p., pp. lit) 

mow {pp. mown) 

pass (t) 

pen (p., PP. pent) 

prove (Pp. proven) 

rend (t) 

rive (pp. riven) 

saw (//. sawn) 

seethe (sod, sodden) 

shape (pp. shapen) 



shave (//. en) 
shear (pp. shorn) 
smell (t) 
spell (t) 
spill (t) 
spoil (t) 

stave (p., pp. stove) 
swell (pp. swollen) 
wake (P., PP. woke) 
wax (Pp. waxen) 
wed (PP. wed) 
wend (/. went) 
whet (p., pp. whet) 
work (p., pp. wrought) 



Class III. — Irregular, — preterit and perfect participle alike, in d or t. 



beseech, besought 
bleed, bled 
breed, bred 
bring, brought 
build, built (ed) 
buy, bought 
catch, caught 
creep, crept 
deal, dealt 
dwell, dwelt 
feed, fed 
feel, felt 
flee, fled 
gird, girt (ed) 
have, had 



hear, heard 

keep, kept 

kneel, knelt (ed) 

lay, laid 

lead, led 

leave, left 

lend, lent 

lose, lost 

make, made 

mean, meant 

meet, met 

pay, paid 

read, read 

rend, rent (pp. rended) 

say, said 



seek, sought 
sell, sold 
send, sent 
shoe, shod 
shoot, shot 
sleep, slept 
speed, sped (ed) 
spend, spent 
stand, stood 
stay, staid (ed) 
sweep, swept 
teach, taught 
tell, told 
think, thought 
weep, wept 



9 6 



ETYMOLOGY. 



Class IV. — Irregular, — all the parts alike in t or d. 



burst hit put shed 

cast hurt quit (ed) shred 

cost knit (ed) rid(/>p.ed) shut 

cut let set slit (ed) 



spit (spat, sweat (ed) 

spitten) thrust 

split (ed) wet (ed) 
spread 



TOPICAL REVIEW. 



III. — ETYMOLOGY. 


IV. Verb. 






Compound. 






Preliminary definitions. 






1. Infinitive. 

2. Present Indicative. 


4. 


Participle. 
(a) Present. 


3. Past Indicative. 




(V) Perfect. 




5- 
6. 


Principal Parts. 
Auxiliaries. 


Classification. 






I. As to form. 


2. 


As to object. 


{a) Strong. 
(J>) Weak. 




(a) Transitive. 
{b) Intransitive 


(V) Regular, 
(jy) Irregular. 
The ed. 


3- 


As to subject. 
(a) Active. 
(/>) Passive. 


[Regular, Irregular, etc.] 


4- 


(ni) Finite. 
(») Not Finite. 




Some minor terms. 



TOPICAL REVIEW. 



97 



Properties. 

1. Voice. 

(#) Active. 

(w) Transitive. 

(;z) Intransitive. 
(J?) Passive. 

2. Mode. 

(#) Indicative. 
(£) Subjunctive. 
(V) Potential. 
(<aQ Imperative. 

3. Tense. 

In each mode. 

Infinitives and Participles. 

Infinitives. 

(1) Present. 

(2) Perfect. 
The to. 

Omitted. 



Person and Number. 

Inflection for. 

Solemn Style. 

Of Imperative. 
Form. 

(#) Common. 
(£) Progressive. — ("Is 

being built.") 
(V) Passive. 
Emphatic. 
Interrogative, etc. 



Participles. 

(1) Present. 

(3) Perfect. 

(4) Compound. 
Conspectus. 



Synopsis. 
Conjugation. 
List of strong verbs. 
List of weak verbs. 



98 ETYMOLOGY. 



Adverb. 



145. An Adverb is a modifying word. Most 
adverbs can be ranged under one of the following 
groups : — 

(1) Adverbs of Time, showing when, how long, 
how often ; as, then, yearly, seldom, soon. 

(2) Adverbs of Place, showing where, whither, 
whence ; as, here, thither, thence, whence, forward. 

(3) Adverbs of Manner, showing how ; as, so, 
well, faithfully, as. 

(4) Adverbs of Degree, showing measure, de- 
gree ; as, much, quite, very, enough, as. 

(5) Modal adverbs, showing the relation or 
connection of the thoughts, or how they are looked 
upon by the mind itself; as, (a) adverbs of cause 
and effect; hence, therefo?-e, then, since; — (I?) 
adverbs of affirmation, emphasis; yes, verily, 
indeed ; — (c) adverbs of negation ; no, nay, not ; 
— (d) and others ; probably, perhaps, really; 

146. Conjunctive adverbs connect as well as 
modify; as, "He whistled as he went"; He 
worked while he staid ; WJien he tries he succeeds. 
Conjunctives may belong to either class above. 

147. Relative Adverb is a convenient term for a class 
of words mostly compounded of an adverb and a preposi- 
tion, and equivalent to a preposition and a pronoun ; as, 
" Herein lies the mistake " (in this) ; " The day that thou 



PREPOSITION. 99 

eatest thereof'' (of it); "The grave where our hero was 
buried" (in which). 

148. (a) The is an adverb in "the more the merrier " 
(compare the vulgarism, " He is that smart "). 

(b) There, beginning a sentence, is often called an ex- 
pletive ; as, There was a man (not There he goes). It was 
originally an indefinite pronoun like it (97, e, 2) ; as, "There 
was John there, and Thomas " (It was John there). 

(<:) Yes, no, in replies, do not modify at all, but are 
classed under adverbs better than anywhere else. Amen, 
indeed, and others, come under the same head. They are 
a sort of pro-sentential, analogous to both the pronoun and 
the interjection. 

(</) The so-called " adverbial phrases " in vain, at last, 
of late, in short, etc., had better be resolved (see 154). When 
an adverb becomes an adjective or a noun, let it be so dis- 
posed of; the above words ; an everlasting nmv ; " Let your 
yea be yea " 

149. Some adverbs are inflected, like adjectives, by com- 
parison. 

Preposition. 

150. A Preposition shows the relation of its 
object (170) to some other word (usually a preced- 
ing verb, noun, or adjective). 

151. Two or more words often show but a single relation, 
and may be taken together as a preposition; as, " As for 
me and my house." Even when showing a twofold relation, 
they may be disposed of in the same way, though both rela- 
tions should be explained ; as, "From betwixt two aged 
oaks;" "Fro?n beyond Jordan." The former are sometimes 
called double prepositions ; the latter, complex. 



IOO 



ETYMOLOGY. 



152. (a) But and save are rarely prepositions (see 161) ; 
as, like, near, nigh, next, never are. (He lived near the 
lake, nearer the lake, nearest the lake.) 

(J>) A is sometimes a preposition from the old French, 
meaning to, on, i7i ; as, " I go a fishing ;" " He fell a laugh- 
ing;" "They went a Monday." (How these old idioms 
cling to the language of the common people !) 

(c) To before the infinitive is an undoubted preposition, 
precisely as in French a dire, a tenir. 

153. When the object is omitted, the preposition often 
becomes an adverb ; as, they went on. 

154. In such phrases as in vain, by far, on high, etc. 
(148, d), the adjective or adverb has become essentially a 
noun, and may be so disposed of; as, he came from far ; 
mount up on high. (See, also, 148, d.) 

155. List of Prepositions. 



aboard 


before 


forth 


since 


about 


behind 


from 


(than) 


above 


below 


in 


through 


across 


beneath 


into 


throughout 


adown 


beside (s) 


maugre 


till 


after 


between 


notwithstanding 


to 


against 


betwixt 


of 


toward (s) 


along 


beyond 


off 


under 


alongside 


(but) 


on 


nnderneath 


amid(st) 


by ^ 


(onto) 


until 


among(st) 


despite 


over 


unto 


around 


down 


past 


up 


as for 


during 


per 


upon 


as to 


ere 


round 


with 


at 


except 


sans 


within 


athwart 


for 


(save) 


without 



The participles barring, concerning, considering, except- 
ing, passing, regarding, respecting, touching, are with very 
doubtful propriety classed as prepositions. 



CONJUNCTION. IOI 

# 

Conjunction. 

156. A Conjunction merely connects. 

Relative pronouns and conjunctive adverbs also connect, 
but they perform other offices at the same time. 

157. There are two principal classes of conjunc- 
tions : — 

(a) Coordinate Conjunctions connect parts 
of equal rank (174) ; as, John and James went; 
John went but James staid. 

(b) Subordinate Conjunctions connect 
parts of unequal rank ; as, you know that it is so ; 
he will if "he can. 

158. Other terms are common, though of no great prac- 
tical value : — 

(a) Copulative, uniting the parts in meaning ; and, if, 
that, for. 

(f) Disjunctive, separating the parts in meaning; either, 
or, than, yet, but. 

(f) Causal or Illative, denoting reason, conclusion, in- 
ference ; because, since, hence, therefore. 

(d) Adversative, denoting opposition ; or, but, yet, still. 

(e) Alternative, denoting choice ; or, either, else. 

159. Correlative Conjunctions are used in 
pairs, and denote some mutual relation between 
the parts thus connected. The principal are, — al- 
though — yet; and — and; both — and; either — 
or; neither — nor; nor — nor; or — or; though 



T.02 ETYMOLOGY. 

— yet (or stilt); what — and; what — what; 
whether — or. These are also called correspond- 
ing conjunctions. 

Examples. — " Though he slay me yet will I trust in him;" 
Both he and I ; "Neither money nor credit was left ;" "Nor 
eye nor listening ear an object finds." 

1 60. {a) Certain words — as, what though, as though, as 
if, and yet — are called Compound Conjunctions. They 
may generally be separated and something supplied ; as, 
what (would result) though ? — what (matters it) though ? 

(b) A phrase often performs the office of a conjunc- 
tion ; as, John, as-well-as James, was present ; inasmuch-as ; 
as-far-as. These may generally be separated in parsing. 

161. (a) But and save are plainly conjunctions and not 
prepositions, since they are followed by the same case of per- 
sonal pronouns as precedes them ; as, " Who but he that spans 
the pole?" — "No man hath ascended up into heaven save 
he that came down from heaven," — "I have no friend but 
theeP This being the almost universal usage, the few excep- 
tions must be considered errors ; as, " Whence all but him 
had fled " {Hemans) ; " Every girl but me has found a beau " 
{Hood). 

(J?) But, instead of connecting, often merely restricts the 
thought to the one point mentioned ; as, " I can but perish 
if I go ; " " Earth's but a desert drear ; " I have but three ; 
I cannot but think so. As thus used, but is commonly called 
an adverb, though this is only a peculiar case of its adversa- 
tive meaning. 

(c) That often seems merely to introduce a clause with- 
out connecting : " That you have wronged me doth appear 
in this ; " " When that the poor have cried." (See Abbott's 
Shakesperian Grammar, p. 196.) 



INTERJECTION. 103 

162. An was formerly a conjunction, meaning if; as, 
"An it were so I would have told you." Or is occasionally 
an adverb, meaning ere, before ; as, "Or ever the golden 
bowl be broken." 

163. The principal coordinate conjunctions are: — 
Also, and, besides, both, either, eke, else, far, hence, however, 

likewise, moreover, neither, nevertheless, nor, now, notwith- 
standing, or, still, then, therefore, too, yet. 
The principal subordinates are : — 

Albeit, although, as, because, except, if, lest, notwithstand- 
ing, provided, since, so, than, that, though {unless, without), 
whereas. 

For is a coordinate except when it means for that ; as, 
" They are not ever jealous for a cause, 
But jealous for [that] they're jealous." — Shak. 

Interjection. 

164. An Interjection is a disconnected ex- 
clamatory word : — ah / oh ! hurra / lo ! hush ! 
etc. 

Other parts of speech often become interjections ; as, 
shame ! goodness ! — Why, John ! is that you ? — What ! is he 
gone ? Students are sometimes puzzled to decide whether 
such words are interjections or not. An interjection is in- 
definable. When, therefore, a word, commonly another part 
of speech, loses its meaning and becomes a mere exclama- 
tion, it is an interjection. Compare, look ! and lo ! — why, 
John? and why, John! — what? and what! — the Dutch, 
and the Dutch! — the second word of each pair being an 
interjection ; the first, not. 

People of good manners and self-respect do not use many interjec- 
tions. 



104 



ETYMOLOGY. 



S -5 
o .-3 

6 
iS 

2 




pUB '9SBD 



u . 

SB 


com. 
neut. 
first 
sec. 
third 
sing. 
k plura 












T3 




g CJ3 








O"ov- 




55 « O 




T3 




^ 




0> 




C > 4- 




oper 
mmo 
llecti 
strac 
rbal 








Jh o ox> « 




O-u o rt > 









o r 


., c ^ s S 
-£ bjo ft c r • 

£ i i i a*s? 




O <D>-' 


^ u rt 






1 1 1 


3 


*-• </>-rs ■ 


t! O 


ceden 
agree 
r, an 
oprin 


C *S 


(U 

*o bo 
<u c 


m « <u ** 


<Ui3 


*i — ^ m 




g-c g_c 


cS 8 


•H 3'i3 




«/>-£ C j- 


i2 rt 'i 


— > ~ v .- 


'S - 


oi « rt 


tCT3 | 


lating t 

, wi 

in gene 
person, 
ciple — 


3 *- 2 

o ft 6 


45 X U 



O rt ( 







U^-N 






> <u 






«~.£ 






> rt 35 <u 


rt 




'35 £PC > 


G 


> 


S P o\3 


c 

<L) 


if 


posse 

inten 

(resp 

L adjec 


ft 



FORMS OF PARSING. 



I°5 







•2 -t 



W ."*» •- , 






2<a 



■ft fl 





9qj JO 



-s^JBd -uud 

}OOl' 






io6 



ETYMOLOGY. 






O o 



w)2 









TOPICAL REVIEW. 



III. 


— ETYMOLOGY. 


V. Adverb. 






Time. 




Conjunctive. 


Place. 




Relative. 


Manner. 




Special Words. 


Degree. 




" Adverbial phrase." 


Modal. 




Inflection. 


Of cause, etc. 






VI. Preposition. 






Double. 




Prep, an adverb. 


Complex. 




Phrases in vain, etc. 


But, save, a. 




List of prepositions. 


VII. Conjunction. 






(V) Coordinate. 




Compound. 


(7>) Subordinate. 




Conjunctive phrase. 


Other kinds. 




But and save. 


Copulative, Dis 


junctive. 


But restrictive. 


Causal or Illative. 


An, or. 


Adversative, Alternative. 


List of coordinates. 


Correlative. 




List of subordinates. 


VIII. Interjection. 






From other parts 


^f speech. 


| How known. 


Forms of parsing. 







108 SYNTAX. 



IV. — SYNTAX. 



165. Syntax treats of the sentence. The sub- 
ject will here be divided under two heads : — 

(1) Analysis of the Sentence. 

(2) Syntactical Principles, or the Techni- 
cal Grammar of the Sentence. 

Part I. — Analysis of the Sentence.* 

166. A Sentence is the expression of a com- 
plete thought (see 173). 

Two things are necessary to 'every thought, — (1) the 
subject of it — what the thought is about; (2) what, is 
thought about that subject. Hence a sentence-, which is the 
expression of a thought, contains two corresponding parts, 
a Subject and a Predicate. 

* If this Analysis is thought to be too brief in comparison with the 
elaborate treatises now everywhere in vogue, the answer is, that it is suf- 
ficient for all practical purposes, and, especially, that this brevity is be- 
lieved to be in harmony with the advanced methods now rapidly gaining 
ground among our best educators. The fashionable hair-splitting analy- 
sis had better give place to a broader and more profitable work on the 
derivation, older forms, and history of our language ; and, especially, to 
the painstaking study, under careful teaching, of a few of the mas- 
terpieces of English literature from Chaucer down. Let as much care 
and time be devoted to this work as to the study of the classics, and see 
which will carry off the palm as a sturdy discipline for downright life- 
work. Of course a well-rounded education needs them both. (See 
note, p. 41.) 



ANALYSIS OF THE SENTENCE. 109 

The substantive (72,/") which denotes the subject of the 
thought may be called the Subject-Nominative, and the 
finite verb (124, 3, m) of the predicate may be called 
the Predicate-Verb. 

167. The Subject of a sentence is that con- 
cerning which the expression is made ; or, the Sub- 
ject is that part of a sentence which indicates the 
subject of the thought ; as, Trees grow ; Go {thou) ; 
Was Thomas there? 

{a) A Simple Subject has only one subject- 
nominative ; as, Boys play. 

(b) A Compound Subject has more than one 
subject-nominative to a single predicate ; as, Boys 
and girls play. 

168. The Predicate of a sentence is what is 
expressed concerning the subject; as, Trees grow ; 
Go (thou)*; Was Thomas there ? 

(a) A Simple Predicate has only one predi- 
cate-verb ; as, Boys play, 

(b) A Compound Predicate has more than 
one predicate-verb to a single subject; as, Boys 
run and play, 

169. A predicate sometimes consists of a copula 
and an attribute, 

{a) An Attribute (as the term is here used) 
denotes a quality or attribute predicated of the sub- 
ject ; or, an Attribute is what is ascribed to the 
subject; as, Bryant was &poet; The house is large. 



1 10 SYNTAX. 

In strictness, an attribute is any descriptive epithet, and 
may take three forms : — 

(i) Adjective ; a wise man. 

(2) Appositive ; Webster the orator. 

(3) Predicative ; the man is wise. 

For convenience, only the last case (3) is here termed an 
attribute. 

(&) A Copula is a verb joining an attribute to 
its subject ; Bryant was a poet. 

The principal copulative verb is is. Others are : appear, 
become, continue, feel, get, go, grow, look, re?nain, seem, 
sit, sound, stand, stay, turn, is called, is chosen, is elected, is 
made, is named, and similar words. 

Note that these verbs are copulas only when followed by 
an attribute ; as, he became king ; he seems, appears, grows, 
sick ; it gets, turns, tastes, sour ; he goes wild, runs mad, 
looks cold, remains alone ; she sits, stands, silent ; it sounds, 
feels, grows, harsh ; smells, tastes, looks, sweet ; looks pretty ; 
his blood runs cold ; he was called John, was made king, is 
elected president, etc. 

Compare, she looks cold (adj.), and she looks coldly on 
him (adv.); he appears zvell (adj., in health), and he ap- 
pears well (adv., makes a good appearance). The first of 
each pair is a copulative verb, the second not. So, also, he 
became king — her bonnet became her; she grows like her 
mother — she grows like a weed ; and similarly through the 
list. 

In cases like " The wages of sin is death" " His pavilion were 
dark waters and thick clouds" the beginner is sometimes troubled to 
tell which word is subject and which attribute. Consider of what the 
writer is speaking. Is he telling what the wages are, or what death is ? — 
what the pavilion is, or what the waters and clouds are ? Evidently 



ANALYSIS OF THE SENTENCE. Ill 

the former in each case, and the verbs are both wrong. So in questions ; 
as, Who is that man ? — the query is in regard to man, which is the 
subject, while who is the attribute. 

170. An Object is that on which an action 
(verb) or relation (preposition) terminates : He 
struck John on the head. 

(a) A Direct Object is that on which an ac- 
tion directly terminates ; as, I gave him a book ; 
told them a story. 

(b) An Indirect Object, or Dative, is that 
on which an action indirectly terminates ; or, it is 
"that to or for which anything is or is done " : I 
gave him a book ; told them a story ; sold the boy a 
knife ; asked him a question. 

171. A Subject may be either Grammatical o* 
Logical. 

(a) A Grammatical Subject is the subject- 
nominative only ; as, The loud waves dashed upon 
the rocks. 

(b) A Logical Subject is the grammatical 
subject with all its modifiers (180) ; as, The loud 
and furious waves lashed the rocks. 

The same distinction is made in regard to predicate, 
copula, attribute, object, and some other parts of a sentence. 
[Give examples.] 

172. A Proposition is a subject combined 
with its predicate ; " The breaking waves dashed 
high ; " "Art thou that traitor angel? " 



112 SYNTAX. 

173. A Sentence is a proposition or a union of 
propositions expressing a full thought (see i66) 

Sentences may be : — 

(1) Simple, Complex, Compound ; 

(2) Declarative, Interrogative, Imperative, Ex- 
clamatory, or Mixed, 

(a) A Simple Sentence consists of a single 
proposition (172). 

(b) A Complex Sentence consists of two or 
more connected propositions of unequal rank. One 
is always principal, the others subordinate (see 
174); as, He will go (Prin.) when he has time 
(Subor.). 

(c) A Compound Sentence consists of two 
or more connected propositions of equal rank ; as, 
John ivent away, but the others staid. 

(u) A Declarative Sentence is an assertion ; 
John goes to school. 

(v) An Interrogative Sentence is a ques- 
tion; Does John go to School? 

(w) 'An Imperative Sentence is a command, 
permission, entreaty, etc. ; John, go to school. 

(x) An Exclamatory Sentence is an ex- 
clamation ; John goes to school, indeed! 

(y) A Mixed Sentence combines the charac- 
teristics of two or more of the others. 

174. A Clause is a proposition making a part 
of a sentence. The three principal kinds are : (a) 
Coordinate, (b) Subordinate, (c) Principal. 



ANALYSIS OF THE SENTENCE. 1 13 

(a) Coordinate Clauses are those of equal 
rank (that is, each makes a distinct statement and 
is not modified by the others) . 

Coordinate clauses are always connected by coordinate 
conjunctions (163). Ex. " God made the country and man 
made the town." " His subjects despised him ; for he was 
a bad man." (Compare : " They despised him because he 
was bad," — subordinate.) 

(b) A Subordinate Clause is one of inferior 
rank (that is, its assertion is not distinct of itself, 
but depends on another which it modifies) ; When 
he goes . . . ; If that is so, . . . 

Four kinds of subordinate clauses may be dis- 
tinguished : — 

(1) A Relative Clause is connected by a 
relative pronoun (99) or a relative adverb (147) ; 
He was a man whom all loved ; He died in the 
house where he was born. 

(2) An Adverbial Clause is connected by a 
conjunctive adverb (146) ; He whistled as he went ; 
He went where he was told. 

(3) A Conjunctive Clause is connected by a 
conjunction. 

(4) A Substantive Clause is a clause used 
substantively (72,/) ; " That you have wronged me, 
Brutus, doth appear in this." A substantive clause 
may be used as subject, object, appositive, or attribute. 

(c) A Principal Clause contains a main state- 



114 SYNTAX. 

ment which is modified but does not modify ; " This 
is the cat that caught the rat that ate the malt," etc. 

A single principal clause, with others modifying, gives 
a complex sentence. Two or more connected principal 
clauses, with others modifying either or all, give a com- 
pound sentence. 

175. When very loosely connected, the clauses of a com- 
pound sentence may be termed Members : — 

(ist m.) " But when he reached the room of state 
Where she, with all her maidens, sate, 
Perchance he wished his boon denied ; 

(2d ;/z.) For when to tune his harp he tried, 
His trembling hand had lost the ease 
Which marks security to please." — Scott. 
Members may be distinguished by the terms applied 

(173) to sentences. 

1 76. A Paragraph is a series of sentences upon 
one branch or point of a subject. 

177. A Phrase is a group of words performing 
a single office (generally modifying), but not form- 
ing a proposition. Several kinds may be distin- 
guished : — 

(1) An Adjunct is a preposition and its object ; He 
wandered through the vast forests. 

(2) An Infinitive Phrase is an infinitive with its modi- 
fiers ; He hoped to visit the new world. 

The two (1, 2) are often called Prepositional Phrases. 

(3) An Adjective Phrase has an adjective for its base 
(179); A man, wise in his own conceit; The people, vain 
and giddy in the pursuit of pleasure, had little character. 



ANALYSIS OF THE SENTENCE. 115 

(4) A Participial Phrase has a participle for its base ; 
The enemy, filled with a sudden panic, fled on every side. 

(5) A Complex Phrase is a phrase containing a propo- 
sition or another phrase ; " In the grave where our hero was 
buried ; " From the homes of the people. 

(6) A Substantive Phrase is one used substantively ; 
" To be contents his natural desire." 

(7) An Appositive Phrase is (generally) a phrase used 
substantively in apposition; " His work, to save a ruined 
world, was done." 

(8) An Absolute Phrase has for its base a nominative 
or participle used absolutely ; School being out, we went 
home ; Speaking in the abstract, it was not so. 

(9) A Nude Phrase is an objective without a preposi- 
tion ; I gave hi?n a dollar; He staid a week; We went 
a mile. 

178. The Elements or Parts of a sentence 
are the words, phrases, or clauses, of which it is 
composed. 

The term elejnent, in science, generally means one of the 
simplest components of a thing. In this sense, the elements 
of language are letters or elementary sounds. The term is 
used more loosely in grammatical analysis to denote the 
parts of a given whole from a given standpoint. Thus, the 
elements : — 

{a) Of a paragraph, are sentences. 

(Ji) Of a sentence, are its words, phrases, or clauses, as 
may be required. 

(c) Of a proposition, its subject and predicate, or its 
words and phrases. 

(cT) Of a subject ox predicate, its words and phrases. 



il6 syntax. 

(e) Of a phrase, its words. 

(_/*) Of a word, its syllables, letters, or sounds. 

(<£") Of a syllable, its letters or sounds. 

In brief, in grammatical analysis those components which 
we may be for the time considering, are, for that purpose, 
the elements of the whole which they form. 

179. The Base of an element is its principal 
component. Thus, the base : — 

(a) Of a word, is its radical syllable (42). 

(J?) Of a phrase, its chief word ; as, in the vain hope. 

(V) Of a subject, its subject-nominative. 

(d) Of a predicate, its predicate-verb. 

(<?) The base of a clause or proposition may be consid- 
ered its subject and predicate ; of a complex sentence, its 
principal clause ; of a compound sentence, its coordinate 
clauses. The term base is seldom used in parts above sub- 
ject and predicate. 

Any element is compound when it has more than one 
part which, singly, would constitute its base. These may be 
referred to as first base, second base, etc. 

180. A Modifier is an element that changes the 
meaning which another element would have without 
it. The subject, predicate, and principal clause 
hardly come under the head of modifiers. 

181. A Connective is an element that unites 
other elements. 

(a) A preposition is the connective of an adjunct. 

(b) A conjunction, relative pronoun, or conjunctive ad- 
verb, is the connective of a clause. 

(7) A conjunction is often in a loose way the connective 
of a sentence. 



ANALYSIS OF THE SENTENCE. 117 

182. An Independent Element has no gram- 
matical connection with other elements. 

Grammatically it does not modify ; but as there is always 
a connection in meaning, there is thus an important modifi- 
cation which must not be lost sight of. (Compare, " John, 
come here ! " with " Rouse ye, Romans ! ") 

183. (a) Analysis is resolving a composition 
into its elements, and explaining their construction, 
relations, and modifications. 

(b) Parsing is resolving a composition into its 
parts of speech (66), and explaining their proper- 
ties and relations. 

We can analyze from any given point of view (as to 
sounds, spelling, derivation, properties, etc.) ; we can parse 
only from the standpoint of the sentence. Parsing, since it 
reduces the sentence to its ultimate elements, words, is the 
most truly scientific and comprehensive. A student who can 
parse can analyze, but one who can analyze cannot neces- 
sarily parse, as too many of our schools know to their cost. 

184. For the analysis of the sentence, modifiers 
(180) may be divided into three classes: (1) 
Words, or first-class modifiers; (2) Phrases, or 
second-class modifiers ; (3) Clauses, or third-class 
modifiers. 

Most of the elements of a sentence can be modified by 
either of these. It will be sufficient to explain the modifiers 
of the subject and predicate bases. 

Prof. S. S. Greene's admirable system of analysis calls the subject- 
modifiers of the following table, adjective elements; and the predicate- 
modifiers, adverbial elements, of the first, second, and third classes re- 
spectively. These terms must not be confounded with the " adjective 
phrases," and "adverbial clauses," used above (177, 3; 174, 2). 



Il8 . SYNTAX. 

Modifiers. 

Of Subject. Of Predicate. 

(A) Words (First Class). 

1. Adj. — The wise man thinks carefully. — i. Adv. 

2. Poss. — Johns horse lost a shoe. — 2. Obj. 

3. Appos.- Webster, the orator, was I elo( l uen t (Pred Adj.) 1 

( senator (Pred. Norn.) j 

4. Part. — Skipping lightly, they went laughing along. —3. Part. 

5. Ind. Word (?) — Rouse ye, Romans. 

6. Adv. — " Even Scrooge was not so cut up by it." — Dickens. 

(B) Phrases (Second Class). 

1. Adjunct. — The house in the 

forest was wrapped in flames. — 1. Adj. 

2. Infln. — His efforts to succeed made him ( ) excel. — 2. Infin. 

3. Adj. — Men ignorant of the 

world grow wise in their own conceits* 

4. Part. — Laboring at the 

anvil, he was seen earning his bread. — 3. Part. 

5. Comp. — The school in the was taught by a lady of stipe- 

village wAere he lived rior learning. — 4. Comp. 

6. Appos. — His work, to save a He studied, the master 

ruined world, was done. being otit. — 5. Abs. (?) 

I told ( ) him. — 6. Nude. 

(C) Clauses (Third Class). 

1. Rel. — The student who 

failed was told wherein he had erred. (?) 

2. Adv'l. — The soldiers fell where they stood. 

3. Conj'v. — The thought that he 

might win determined him that he would. 

4. Sub'v. — That question, " Is it 

right ? " showed him what he was. 

5. Appos. —As in (3, 4). 

* The attribute, being a part of the base of the predicate, is not a 
modifier, though it is the complement of the verb. 



ANALYSIS. 



II 9 



185. No fixed forms for analysis can be presented. 
The analysis of a sentence, like any other recitation, 
should be given as briefly and clearly as may be. 
All the word modifiers should generally be named 
first, then the phrase, and then the clause modifiers, 
in the order, p. 118. The connective of a phrase 
or clause should generally be given first ; thus, in 
"He lived in high hopes," — livedo modified by 
the phrase in high hopes, of which in is the connec- 
tive, and hopes the base modified by the adjective 
high. The following forms may be of some service 
to beginners : — 

Form 5. — Analysis. 
1. Simple Sentence. 

[" simple " 

~ sentence, of which - 



rsubject, 
(predicate, " 



decl. 
inter, 
etc. 
' simple, 



comp.. 



1st 

2d 

etc. 



- base 



( unmodified. 
"' 1 modified, < * 



5S. >■- 



radj 
1st, by the^ poss, 

(etc 

f adjunct ^ 
2d, by the \ infin. \ phr 

I etc. J 

base, 



-, which is 



f unmodified. 

I modified by , etc. 



, of which 



is the 



/ unmodified. 
I modified, etc. 
[3d, by the clause (in 2, 3).] 



120 SYNTAX. 

2. Complex Sentence. 

is a complex, etc., sentence, principal clause , 

(Analyze clear through, as in I, then: — ) 

r word ^ r conj. ^ clause . 

the^ phrase lis modified by the^ rel. > (Analyze it 



I whole cl. J I etc. J as in I.) 

3. Compound Sentence. 

is a compound, etc., sentence, consisting of 1, 2, 3, etc., 

coordinate clauses. The first clause is , etc., as in 

1, 2. 

Or, analyze into members first, and then into clauses, etc. 

186. For the sake of interest and variety, an oc- 
casional exercise in diagraming is of some value. 
The following method, devised (essentially) years 
ago by Prof. E. T. Quimby, of Hanover, N. H., is, 
on the whole, one of the best. Only a few exam- 
ples are given ; the student's ingenuity will be suffi- 
cient for any others, if, indeed, the teacher should 
not think best to turn that ingenuity into more 
profitable channels. 

Form 6. — Diagraming. 

I. The lowing herd winds slowly o'er the lea. 

herd winds 

the slowly 



lowing [ o'er lea 



[the 



DIAGRAMING. 



121 



2. Can storiedurn or animated bust 

Back to its mansion call the fleeting breath ? 



urn 

I storied 
or 
bust 

I animated 



can call .... breath 

back the 

[to mansion [fleeting 
I its 



3. Homeward the ploughman plods his weary way, 
And leaves the world to darkness and to me. 



ploughman 


plods . . . . w 


ay 


[the 


[ homeward 


his 




and 


weary 




leaves .... world 




[to darkness [the 




and 




[to me 





Beneath those rugged elms, that yew-tree's shade, 
Where heaves the turf in many a mouldering heap, 

Each in his narrow cell forever laid, 

The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep. — Gray, 



forefathers 
tiie 
rude 
^each laid] 

forever 
I in cell 
Ihis 
I na n 



sleep 

I beneath 
where 



turf 



heaves 



I the [in heap 

many a 
mouldering 



elms 

those 

I [rugged 
(and) 
shade 

[that 
yew-tree's 



122 SYNTAX. 

5. The heights by great men won and kept 

Were not attained by sudden flight ; 
But they, while their companions slept, 

Were toiling upward in the night. — Longfellow. 

heights were attained 

the no t 

[won [by flight 

a [S men 1 sud den 

J 1 I ill eat 

[kept 

[but] 

they J were toiling 

upward 

in night 

while I the 

companions | slept 

1 their 

6. This said, he formed thee, Adam, thee, O man. 

he formed .... thee 

[this said] [Adam] 
[thee] 
[O man] 

7. I saw them give him a dollar near the store last week. 

I J saw .... them 

[( ) give .... dollar 
near |a 

1 ( ) store 
_(_) him [the 
( ) week 
[last 



DIAGRAMING. 



123 



He prayeth best who loveth best 
All things both great and small ; 

For the dear God who loveth us, 

He made and loveth all. — Coleridge. 



he 

[ who | 


1 

loveth .... tt 
[best 


prayeth 
[best 
ings 
all 
great 








both 


[for] 
he 






and 
small 
made .... 




[Gc 


>d] 

_the 




] 


and 

oveth .... 


all 




dear 








who 


loveth .... 


us 


9. [That] yc 


)u | have wrc 


mged . . . 


. me | doth appear 

1 in this 



10. We I heard .... what he | said 

Or, We I heard .... 

he [ said .... what 

Or, We I heard .... [what 
he I said ... .1 



11. They | made .... him [king] 



TOPICAL REVIEW. 



IV.— SYNTAX. 



Syntax. 

Two divisions. 



Part I. — Analysis. 

Sentence (logical def.) 
Subject. 

Simple, Compound. 
Predicate. 

Simple, Compound. 

Attribute and Copula. 
Object. 

Direct, Indirect. 
Terms Grammatical, Logical. 
Proposition. 
Sentence (technical def.) 

1. Simple, Complex, Com- 

pound. 

2. Declarative, Interroga- 

tive, Imperative, Ex- 
clamatory, Mixed. 
Clause. 

Coordinate. 
Subordinate. 

Relative, Adverbial, 
Conjunctive, Substantive. 
Principal. 



Member. 

Paragraph. 

Phrase. 

Adjunct, Infinitive, Adjec- 
tive, Participial, Com- 
plex, Substantive, Ap- 
positive, Absolute, Nude. 

Elements. 

Base. 

Modifiers. 

Connective. 

Independent element. 

Analysis, Parsing. 

Table of Modifiers. 

Forms for Analysis. 

Forms for Diagram. 



SYNTAX. — PART II. 1 25 



SYNTAX. 

Part II. — Technical Grammar of the Sentence. 

This branch of the subject will be treated in two 
divisions : (A) Principles of Syntax ; (£) Prin- 
ciples of Pu nctuatio n . 

187. Three terms are in constant use in the ulti- 
mate analysis of sentences (183, £) : (a) Govern- 
ment, {I?) Agreement, (c) Relation. 

(a) Government is the control which one 
word has over the properties of another. 

Usage requires that a verb should have the same person 
and number as its subject, — i.e., the subject governs the verb 
in person and number ; a preposition requires the pronoun 
following it to be in the objective — governs the objective 
case. 

{b) Agreement is the correspondence in prop- 
erties which one word has with another. 

A verb agrees with its subject in person and number; a 
pronoun usually agrees with its antecedent in person, num- 
ber, and gender. 

(c) Relation is the connection that a word has 
with another which it modifies. 

An adjective or a participle relates to the substantive 
which it limits ; an adverb relates to its verb ; a pronoun 
relates to its antecedent, and generally agrees with it also. 



126 SYNTAX. 

1 88. Ellipsis is the omission of a word necessary to the 
grammatical construction ; " Near [to] the door." Such 
words are said to be " understood," and are to be supplied 
in parsing. 

(A) General Principles of Syntax (" Rules"). 

PRINCIPLE I. — Nominative. The subject of 
a finite verb is always in the nominative case. 

A substantive may be in the nominative in four other 
ways: (a) by apposition (Rem. 10), (f) by predication 
(Rem. n), (c) independently (Rem. i), (d) absolutely 
(Rem. 2). 

Remark l.—A substantive having no grammat- 
ical connection with other words is generally in the 
nominative independent. There are four cases : — 

(a) By address ; " Hail, holy Light ! " — " O grave, 
where is thy sting ! " 

if) By exclamation ; " Alas, poor Yorick ! " " The 
foe ! they come ! " — Comp. (</), The foe, they come ! 

{/) By title, specification, etc. ; Webster's Dictionary ; 
Chapter IV. ; " The Psalm of Life. — Longfellow " (or Long- 
fellow may be object of by understood). 

(d) By pleonasm ; " He that hath ears to hear, let him 
hear ; " "The pilgrim fathers, where are they?" 

Rem. 2. — K substantive joined to a participle or 
an infinitive which has no grammatical connection 
with the rest of the sentence is said to be in the 
nominative absolute. There are two cases : — 

(a) Before a participle ; " Shame being lost, all virtue 
is lost ; " " This said, he formed thee, man ; " — 



PRINCIPLES OF SYNTAX. — POSSESSIVE. 1 27 

Each in his narrow cell forever laid, 
The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep. — Gray, 
The service past, around the pious man 
With ready zeal each honest rustic ran. — Goldsmith, 
Perhaps such expressions as " hand in hand," "face to 
face," may come under this head, — hand (placed) in hand; 
face (turned) to face. (For " one by one," etc., see, also, 
Rem. 10, d.) 

(^) After a participle or an infinitive; Being a sailor 
was not to his taste; To be a scholar requires study; "His 
being a foreigner prevented his election." Compare : I did 
not know of his being a foreigner, — of its being he (Rem. 
II, *). 

The position of the nominative is generally before its 
verb; but in sentences beginning with the adverb there, in 
interrogative or imperative sentences, and some others, the 
subject follows the verb or the first auxiliary. (See Goold 
Brown, p. 494.) 

PRU. II. — Possessive. A substantive limiting 
another denoting a different object is in the pos- 
sessive case. 

Rem. 3. — A possessive form is frequently used 
as subject or object ; " Theirs was no common 
sepulcher ; " " This stubborn heart of mine ; " " A 
discovery of Sir Isaac Newton's." 

Pronouns like the above may be disposed of by (98). 
Some grammarians supply a noun after all such possessives; 
as, "Andre's [fate] was a sad fate"; but this is often im- 
possible, as in the case of Newtorts, above. It cannot mean, 
as often explained," A discovery of Newton's [discoveries] ." 
Cf. "This stubborn heart of mine" (of mine what?) ; — 

Oh, art thou earth's, or art thou heaverts? — Hemans. 



128 SYNTAX. 

The position of the possessive is usually next to the sub- 
stantive which it limits. For other cases, joint or separate 
possession, etc., see (91). 

Additional examples to (91) are : — 

(a) " The count of Lara's blood ; " " My father-in-law's 
house; " "The bard-of- Lomond's lay." 

(£)-"Of God and Nature's hand;" "A fortnight or 
three weeks' possession; " "x\nd Otway, Radcliffe, Schiller, 
Shakespeare's art ; " " Upon mine and my master's false 
accusation." 

(c) " Mountains above ; earth's, ocean's plain below ; " 
"For honor's, pride's, religion's, virtue's sake;" "The 
sage's and the poet's theme." 

(d) " John the Baptist's head ; " " The king, my father's 
wreck ; " " The queen, my sister's wrongs ; " " For the 
queen's sake, his sister ; " " It is Othello's pleasure, our 
noble and valiant general ; " (very rare, — Don Jose's, his 
fathers. — Byroii). "Somebody else's" (Dickens), should 
undoubtedly be " somebody's else." 

PRItf . III. — Objective. The object of a verb or 
of a preposition is in the objective case. 

Rem. 4. — A few verbs take two objects, a direct 
and an indirect (170) ; as, he gave me a book, sung 
them a song, asked us a question. 

The preposition to or for (of, from) is, by some, supplied 
before such indirect objects. When the direct object pre- 
cedes the indirect, the preposition should always be ex- 
pressed ; as, He gave a book to me. The verbs thus taking 
two objects are : ask, buy, give, lend, make, sell, teach, tell, 
and some others, — to catch, find, shoot one a bird; to envy 
him his pleasure ; to sing her a song, etc. 



PRINCIPLES OF SYNTAX. — OBJECTIVE. 1 29 

Rem. 5. — Verbs like those given in (169, b) 
often take two objectives, the second attributive of 
the first, the verb showing how the attribute was 
conferred. 

Examples. — They chose him captain; I believed him 
my friend ; "This I my glory account ;" "I wished myself 
a ??ian /" "I hold the first who strikes, my foe." — An 
adjective or a phrase replacing the second object, is not to 
be considered an objective ; as, I held him innocent, — 
esteemed him to be honest. 

Hem. 6. — (a) When the expressions under Rem. 4 
become passive, the direct object, and not the indirect, should 
be made the subject (128) ; as, active, They taught him 
grammar,-. — passive, Grammar was taught to him (not, He 
was taught grammar) ; A sword was presented to him (not, 
He was presented with a sword). When either object be- 
comes the subject, the other often remains as a so-called 
"object of the passive"; as, He was taught gra??imar ; 
Grammar was taught him. The first of these expressions, 
though common enough, should not be employed; in the 
second, the preposition should generally be expressed, — 
" was taught to him." 

{f) When the expressions under Rem. 5 are made pass- 
ive; only the first object can become the subject, the other 
remaining as an attribute; as, active, "They named him 
John" ; passive, "He was named John." 

(c) WTien the object of the verb is a clause or a phrase, 
the subject of the clause or the base of the phrase sometimes 
becomes, by a sort of assimilation, the subject of the passive ; 
as, active, They said that the story was true, — passive, The 
story was said to be true ; He felt the act to be wrong, — 
the act was felt to be wrong ; The letter was thought (seen, 



130 SYNTAX. 

believed) to be a forgery. So even the object of a preposi- 
tion may become the subject of the " compound passive " 
(122); as, active, They laughed at him, — passive, He was 
laughed at ; and similarly with was thought of, was talked 
about, was appealed to, etc. These last expressions are thor- 
oughly idiomatic ; but when they become too awkward, a 
change should be made ; as, " He was taken care of" should 
be " Care was taken of him," or " He was cared for." 

{d) The use of the so-called object of the passive is not 
to 6e commended ; as, He was expelled the empire ; is 
banished the state; was debarred intercourse ; was denied 
access ; and the examples under a. These may be "parsed" 
as dative objects, as objects of the passive, or as objects of 
a preposition understood ; in writing they had better be 
avoided. 

Rem. 7. — The words like, unlike, near, nigh, 
opposite, worthy, unworthy, {worth ?) , and some 
others are frequently followed by an object, — that 
is, they may govern an objective. 

To {unto, of) may be supplied after such words, and is 
often expressed ; as, like (to) his brother ; near (to) the 
city; opposite (to) the jail; "How worthy (of) scorn;" 
" Like to the fabled Cytherea's zone ;•" " Nigh unto the city." 
Similarly: "On this side the grave ;" "on board ship;" 
" woe is me ;" " woe worth the chase." 

Rem. 8. — Substantives modifying like adverbials 
are in the objective without a preposition. Such 
words mostly denote time, ?neasure, direction, value, 
age, manner, degree. 

Examples. — "Nine days they fell;" "He came Mon- 
day ; " " You mistook me all the while ; " " Floating many 



-PRINCIPLES OF SYNTAX. — OBJECTIVE. 131 

a league : " " Fallen such a pernicious height ; " " They 
walked silently home;" "I do not care a straw;" "He 
was aged twenty years" — twenty years old; " He sat Turk 
fashion ; " "A world too wide ;" " An army ten thousand 
\jneii\ strong;" Four times five are twenty; not a cent 
poorer ; worth a dollar ; a foot long ; a rod wide. 

Some would, perhaps, put a part of the expressions 
(124, 2) under this head ; as, " plods his weary way "; — so, 
possibly, wends his way ; to go a voyage ; he has been a 
journey, etc. But great care must be taken to ascertain 
whether a usually intransitive verb may not, in the case in 
question, be an idiomatic transitive ; as, to live a life, sing 
a song, breathe a prayer, mourn a friend, escape the wreck, 
" list a brief tale" speak the ship, go an errand ; " We can 
walk it perfectly well ;" " I'll go you ten on it ;" " Death 
grinn'd horrible a ghastly smile" 

Rem. 9. — In a few cases, a pronoun seems to be 
in the objective independent or absolute ; as, " Ah 
me! " — " Me miserable, which way shall I fly? " 

The position of the object is generally after the govern- 
ing word. The exceptions, however, are numerous; "The 
air a solemn stillness holds ; " " He wandered earth around." 
The pronoun that always precedes the preposition governing 
it; "Than flee to others that we know not of" Which, in 
such cases, may either precede or follow; the latter is con- 
sidered preferable; as, "The book of which I spoke," rather 
than " The book which I spoke of" 

PRItf . IV. — Same Case. A substantive used to 
describe or explain another denoting the same ob- 
ject is usually in the same case with it. 

There are two marked subdivisions : — 



132 SYNTAX. 

i. Same case by apposition. 

Rem. 10. — A substantive joined immediately to 
another to define or explain it, is said to be in 
apposition with it. 

The explained term is called the principal term ; the 
other, the explanatory term ; both together are alluded to 
as appositives. 

The chief modes of apposition may be briefly enumer- 
ated : — 

(a) By mere repetitio?i, usually for emphasis ; " And 
hewed thee out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no 
water;" (He himself). 

• (£) For explanation, definition, etc.; Peter the hermit ; 
" We, the people of the United States ; " " Delightful task, 
to rear the tender thought." 

(V) A whole in apposition with its parts ; " Faith, Hope, 
and Love, best boons to mortals given ;"• " Friends, fortune, 
country, <z//.were lost." 

(d) The parts in apposition with a whole ; " Pinch them, 
arms, legs, backs, shoulders, sides, and shins ; " " Be ye kindly 
affectioned one to another;" "Bear ye one another's bur- 
dens;" "They hate each other;" "They went out one by one 
(or one followed by one, — Rem. 2, a). 

{e) Connected by as (Rem. 47), — usually denoting office, 
occupation, and the like ; " As an orator he was unsur- 
passed;" " He worked as a printer" This last closely ap- 
proaches the predicative (2), to which it is by some regarded 
as belonging. 

A remarkable anomaly is found in such expressions as, 
" His work as an author." Here " author " is an apparent 
nominative, seemingly in apposition with " his," and yet 
limiting " work." Grammarians give very unsatisfactory ex- 



PRINCIPLES OF SYNTAX.— OBJECTIVE. 133 

planations of this. (See Maetzner, III., 326.) Some call 
" as " a preposition. Some consider " author " to have, by 
assimilation, the same case as " work." Swinton, New Eng. 
Gram., p. 164, says "his" is equivalent to of him, and 
"author" is an objective in apposition with him ! Most 
writers, however, appear to consider " author " an appositive 
to " his " ; and this is probably its best disposal, especially 
if we explain that it is only a ^^z'-appositive, apparently in 
simulation of the regular form, as in the last paragraph. Ex- 
amples : His confirmation as minister ; "As an author the 
Elegy is his great work ; " 

Thus shall mankind his guardian care engage, 
The promised _/#//^r of the future age. — Pope. 

(/") A substantive is often in apposition with a phrase or 
a clause, and conversely; "The line, 'Nearer, my God, to 
thee,'' was ever on her lips ; " — sometimes even with the 
thought expressed ; as, " I then determined never again to 
use strong drink or tobacco, — a resolve that I have faith- 
fully kept." 

(g) The case of possessives has been sufficiently consid- 
ered, — (91, d) and Rem. 3, d. The examples, Rem. 5, are 
considered by some as appositives ; but in " They made 
him king," the verb "made" is required to show how the 
attribute " king " was conferred, — something very different 
from apposition. 

Appositives do not necessarily agree in anything but case. 

2. Same case by predication. 

Rem. 11. — When the explanatory term is joined 
to the other by an intransitive or passive verb 
(copula, 169, b), the case is no longer one of appo- 
sition, but of predication. 



134 SYNTAX. 

Examples. — He is king, became king, was chosen presi- 
dent, turned poet, stands guard ; was named John ; "It is 
written that man shall not live by bread alone P 

(a) The two terms may be connected by a participle or 
an infinitive : They chose him to be king; "He, being 
elected president, resigned ; " (" /'m to be queen of the 
May.") 

(F) Expressions like : " She walks, a queen," " Tom 
struts, a lord," are not appositive as sometimes considered, 
but clearly predicative, the verb showing how the attribute 
was acquired or exercised. 

(c) Another abnormal expression is found in " Its being 
he;" "His being king;" "I had no idea of his being 
elected president." The explanatory term may be disposed 
of by Rem. 2, b, or as a predicative analogy to the similar 
expression, Rem. 10, 1, e. (See 27, b.) 

(d) The troublesome as comes in here again (10, e) ; — 
They chose him as their leader ; He was elected as a repub- 
lican ; — 

But ever to do ill our sole delight 

As being the contrary to his high will. — Milton. 

PMN. Y. — Double Case. A compound relative 
(102) has generally two cases at the same time. 

The cases may be both nominative, both objective, or one 
nominative and the other objective. In " I heard what was 
said," the same thing was heard that was said, and what 
stands for it in both relations. That is, what is at the same 
time object of heard and subject of was said. In " Whoever 
sins must suffer," both cases are nominative ; in " I heard 
what you said," both are objective. Examples : " Whosoever 
will may come ; " " Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper ; " 
" Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein ; " " We speak that we 



PRINCIPLES OF SYNTAX.— ADJECTIVE. 1 35 

do know; " "That thou doest do quickly; " " Who steals 
my purse steals trash ; " " The Son quickeneth "whom he 
will" (or, Rem. 19, e).* 

In such expressions as " Whatever you may say, I shall 
not yield," the compound has lost its double office, and is 
used in but one case. 

Rem. 12. — A compound relative used as an ad- 
jective may cause its noun to take two cases ; as, 
" WJiat money he had was lost ; " " What man but 
enters, dies." 

Rem. 13. — Some dispose of these in another way, by 
making the compound the subject or object (or adjective) 
in its own clause, the clause itself being subject or object of 
the other clause. Thus, in Whosoever sins must suffer, who- 
soever is subject of sins, and whosoever sins subject of must 
suffer. So in the rest : I heard what he said ; " Who steals 
my purse steals trash." The relative adverbs (147) may be 
similarly disposed of in some cases; "We know whereof we 
speak P 

The old method of changing the relative to that which, 
etc., is too unscientLic to have many advocates at present. 
If we can thus change a word and parse something else, we 
can do anything we please with language. 

PRIX. TI. — Adjective. An adjective relates to 
tli3 substantive which it limits. 

Plural adjectives also agree with their substantives ; — this 
man, these men ; two houses. 

* See Punctuation, Prin. IV., d. 



136 SYNTAX. 

Rem. 14. — («) An adjective sometimes relates to an- 
other adjective ; as, a pale blue color ; a hundred men ; a 
few people. Usually, however, such descriptives are com- 
pound ; as, a red-hot ball ; the dark-blue sea. 

(£) The article the often relates to a comparative ; as, 
The more the merrier ; He did it all the better. The gram- 
marians call the an adverb in such cases. Possibly, expres- 
sions like "His lot was of the hardest," may be similarly 
disposed of. 

(V) The relation of an adjective is sometimes ambiguous. 
Thus, in the expression " a maris hat" a may relate to maris 
or hat ; so, also, in " two fishers' boats," " she makes an 
excellent minister's wife." Such expressions should be 
avoided. 

Rem. 15. — An adjective after a participle or an 
infinitive is often used absolutely, that is, without 
any definite relation ; Being great is not always 
being good ; To be good is to be happy. 

Rem. IB. — {a) An adjective relating to the subject is 
frequently employed, especially by the poets, instead of an 
adverb relating to the verb ; "Wide flush the fields;" 
" Bright the lamps shone o'er fair women and brave men." 
Some consider these adverbs ; others, adjectives used by 
enallage as adverbs. They are generally adjectives. The 
idea of quality is much stronger than that of manner, and is 
hence preferred by the writer ; as " Step quick " is a more 
energetic form than "Step quickly" ; " Stand firm" than 
.".Stand firmly." 

(V) An adjective used as an attribute (169, b) also relates 
to the subject. In both this case and the foregoing, it must 
be understood that the adjective is a part of the predicate, 
though relating to the subject. 



PRINCIPLES OF SYNTAX. — ADJECTIVE. 137 

Rem. 17. — (a) The comparative degree is used 
when two objects are compared. The latter term 
of comparison should always exclude the former ; 
as, " She is taller than her sister/' — not, " She is 
taller than any of the family." 

(b) The superlative degree is used in the com- 
parison of more than two objects. The latter term 
should always include the former ; as, " She is the 
tallest of her family," — not, "She is the tallest of 
her sisters." (See Milton, Par, Lost, IV. 323.) 

(V) There is abundant authority for the use of the super- 
lative in the comparison of two objects. It is less formal, 
more vigorous, and, in familiar language, would not seem 
objectionable ; — "Give him the largest [of the two] because 
he spoke first ;" — 

Between two horses which doth bear him best; 
Between two girls which has the merriest eye. — Shak. 

(d) The use of " double comparatives " or " double 
superlatives " is not allowable ; as Shakespeare's " more 
elder ; " "a more fitter man ; " " most boldest ; " " This was 
the most unkindest cut of all." 

Rem. 18. — (a) The article is generally omitted before 
proper nouns, and before common, abstract, and material 
nouns used in their most general sense ; America ; " Peace 
be unto you ; " Silver is used for coin ; Tea is a narcotic ; 
He is a strange sort of man ; What kind of bird is this? 

(£) The article an, a, is inserted to denote one indefi- 
nitely ; " He is a Stuart ; " a man, an iron, a coin. The 
article the is inserted to give definiteness or individuality ; 



138 SYNTAX. 

The Alps, the Indies, the Thames ; the Adamses ; The oak 
(definite species) is a kind of tree (general). The peace 
that comes from believing ; The silver of Arizona ; The tea 
is weak. 

(r) When both definitive and descriptive adjectives are 
employed, the former generally precede ; as, the old man ; 
some new books. The article generally precedes other defin- 
itives ; as, the same man ; — but it follows all, both, {double, 
half), many, {quite), such, what, and also adjectives pre- 
ceded by as, How, so, too ; as, all the men ; half a mile ; 
many a gem ; quite an audience ; too great a change. 
We say, — " the two greatest generals," " the three highest 
peaks," " the next five years," " the last two stanzas " (" the 
two last," not infrequently). Such expressions as "Rather 
a cold day," " Considerable of an audience," and the like, 
are wrong ; say a rather cold day, " A considerable audi- 
ence." {Quite a good number, seems allowable : cf. " Quite 
another thing.") 

(d) The article is repeated before each noun or adjective 
of a series when there is some contrast or emphasis, or when 
different objects are denoted : "Not only the wish, but the 
will ; " " I am the way, and the truth, and the life ; " " The 
old and the new Testament ; " "A black and a white horse " 
(two horses) ; He is a better soldier than an artist (two 
persons). 

(e) The article is not generally repeated except as above 
(d) : " The wisest, brightest, meanest of mankind ; " 
Scott, the great poet and novelist ; The old and new Testa- 
ments ; A black and white horse (one horse) ; He is a 
better soldier than artist. (But, " The saint, the husband, 
and the father prays." — Bums. Better, The saint, hus- 
band, and father.) 



PRINCIPLES OF SYNTAX.— ANTECEDENT. 139 

PRCf. YH. — Antecedent. A pronoun usually 
agrees with its antecedent in gender, person, and 
number. 

Rem. 19. — (a) A compound pronoun has no 
antecedent, but is used first as antecedent and then 
as relative (Prin. V.). 

(b) A personal pronoun frequently has no definite antes 
cedent expressed ; as, "He who will may come." 

(V) The antecedent of an interrogative may be taken to 
be the word that answers the question, though there is not 
always an agreement; as, " Who is there?" "John;" — ■ 
"What caused that ? " " John." 

(aQ The antecedent may be almost any element, or even 
a thought or idea ; as, " Herod, which is another name for 
cruelty ; " " To be or not to be, that is the question ; " " In 
childhood he learned large portions of the Bible by heart, 
which accounts for his quoting it so readily." 

(<?) The antecedent is frequently elliptical ; — The man 
[whom] we met ; — 

There are [those] who, deaf to mad Ambition's call, 
Would shrink to hear the obstreperous trump of Fame. 



Some would prefer to treat in the same way such expres- 
sions as "Who steals my purse steals trash " (Prin. V.). 

Rem. 20. — (a) When a pronoun has antece- 
dents of different persons, it agrees with the first 
person rather than the second, and with the second 
rather than the third ; as, You and I have our work ; 
You and John have yours. 



140 SYNTAX. 

(b) When the antecedents are of different genders, the 
pronoun agrees with the masculine rather than the feminine, 
and with the feminine rather than the neuter. There is, in 
English, an unfortunate want of a pronoun of the common 
gender, like French on, German man. Thus we say, " Every 
parent should' educate his children," or "his or her" chil- 
dren, or " their children " ; " Every boy or girl must learn his 
or her lesson," or " their lesson." This use of their should 
never be tolerated ; the " his or her " is awkward ; and even 
the first form of expression, when applied to both sexes, 
should, as far as possible, be avoided. (See Rem. 21, b ; 
also Swinton's New Eng. Gram., p. 184.) 

(c) When different persons are used in connection, the 
order is second, third, first ; as, You, John, and /were there ; 
(except in cases of wrong doing, when the order is reversed) . 
We, in the plural, often has the precedence, whether, as 
Swinton teaches (A r ew Eng. Gram., p. 182), to give the 
place of honor to those associated with us in the we, or as a 
mere matter of euphony, may be a question.. Thus we say : 
" We and our friends start ; " " Our friends and ourselves 
start ; " " We and those associated with us." 

Rem. 21. — (a) With a series of antecedents 
denoting plurality, the pronoun is plural ; — 

Faith, Hope, and Love, best boons to mortals given, 
Waved their bright wings, and answered "Yes, in heaven." 

— Alackay. 

(£) With a series of singular antecedents taken 
separately., the pronoun is singular ; as, John or 
James will bring his book. 

This case includes antecedents preceded by many a (gen- 
erally), no, and the distributives each, every, etc. (107) : 



PRINCIPLES OF SYNTAX. — VERB. 141 

those connected by the disjunctives or, nor, etc.; and those 
of which only one can be taken (connective, as-well-as, but 
■not, and not, rather than, etc.) ; as, Neither John nor James 
has his lesson ; Not John but James [John and not, as-zvell- 
as, rather than James] lost his place. When the pronoun 
is in another clause, there seems occasionally to be an excep- 
tion ; — 

In Hawick twinkled many a light, 
Behind him soon they set in night. — Scott. 
In cases coming under this head and Rem. 20, b, at the same 
time, an awkward expression often occurs, which should be 
avoided; thus, " John or /have . . . book," should be, 
" John has his book or / have mineP 

Rem. 22. — A pronoun agreeing with a collec- 
tive antecedent (71, a ; 86, e) is singular when the 
whole is meant, and plural when the individuals are 
meant ; as, The committee has made its report ; 
The comi?iittee have made up their minds. 

Rem. 23. — In parsing a pronoun, two principles are to 
be given, — (1) as to its agreement, (2) as to its construc- 
tion. (See form 3, p. 104.) 

PRIN. YIIX. — Verb. A verb agrees with its 
subject in person and number. 

The cases under this head are analogous to those under 
Prin. VII. 

Rem. 24.— {a) The subject of a verb is often 
elliptical ; as, " Let us make man ; " " There were, 
say, twenty present." 

(b) When the bases of a compound subject are of differ- 
ent persons, the verb generally agrees with the first person 



142 SYNTAX. 

rather than the second, and with the second rather than the 
third ; as, You and I are ; You and he have. 

But when the bases are connected by disjunctives, as in 
(d), the verb agrees with the nearest, and is understood 
with the others ; as, Either you or James is to blame. This 
form of expression, though authorized, should never be em- 
ployed : say, You are to blame or James is ; You are going 
or I am (not, You or I am going). 

(c) When a compound subject denotes plurality, the verb 
is plural ; as, The man and woman were lost. 

(d) When the bases of a compound subject are singular, 
and are taken separately, the verb is singular. The same 
cases here occur as under Rem. 21, b : Either John or 
James has gone ; " Full many a flower is born to blush un- 
seen ; " " Every thought, word, and deed is written ; " 
"The saint, the husband, and the father prays" 

Sometimes the verb is expressed once, and is then under- 
stood : — 

Forth in the pleasing Spring 
Thy beauty walks, thy tenderness, arid love. — Thomson. 

When one subject is taken affirmatively, and the other 
negatively, the verb agrees with one subject, and is under- 
stood with the other ; as, John and not [but not] James was 
there ; Not John, but James, was there. So when subjects 
are connected by but, save, the verb is understood after the 
conjunction, with its affirmation or negation reversed ■ — 

I do entreat you not a man depart, 

Save I alone [depart], till Antony have spoke. — Shak. 

" Should all the realm of nature die, 
And none be left but he and /" [be left]. — Scott. 

(See Rem. 46.) 



PRINCIPLES OF SYNTAX. — INFINITIVE. 143 

Rem. 25. — Adjuncts of the subject (177, 1) do not 
affect the number of the verb ; as, The house with all its con- 
tents was burned (not were) . 

Rem. 20. — A verb of the first ox second person never 
has a noun for its subject, but always a pronoun expressed or 
understood ; as, " I, Paul, send greeting ; " " We, Nicholas, 
czar of Russia, proclaim ;" " Rouse ye, Romans, rouse ye, 
slaves!" (compare, Rouse, ye Romans!); "Blow (ye), 
winds, and crack ( ) your cheeks ! " 

PKIN. IX.— Infinitive; Participle. An infini- 
tive or a participle relates to the word which it 
limits. 

Rem. 27. — Infinitives and participles are fre- 
quently used as verbal nouns (71, c) ; in fact, some 
excellent grammarians always dispose of the infini- 
tive in that way. 

(a) When used as nouns, both the infinitive and the par- 
ticiple may govern and be limited like verbs : To study a 
subject carelessly is not to study it at all; " Holding the 
reins is not always driving." 

(J?) The participle used as a noun may be limited both 
as noun and verb ; as, I did not think of his doing so ; of 
his being Judge (Rem. 2, b ; II, c). 

This possessive and verbal noun is one of our finest 
idioms, but it seems destined to perish in the house of its 
friends. Such solecisms as " I did not think of him being 
there," for u his being there," are now met with in all our 
writers. The distinction between " To think of him living 
there alone," and " To think of his living there alone," is so 
marked that it seems a pity to have ignorance or careless- 
ness, even in high places, drive it from the language. 



144 SYNTAX. 

(V) When the or another definitive precedes a participial 
noun, 0/ should follow ; as, " By the hearing of the ear." If 
either the or of is omitted, both must be ; " Hearing of the 
man " is a very different thing from " The hearing of the 
7nan." Say doing a thing, or the doing of a thing ; not the 
doing a thing, nor doing of a thing. 

(</) Some grammarians explain the verbal noun in such 
expressions as " Of making many books there is no end," as 
a participle merely, governed by the preposition. (See Brown, 
Gram, of Eng. Gram., pp. 635-6.) On the whole, it seems 
as well to call all governed participles verbal nouns ; He 
lives by teaching, by teaching music, by the teaching of 
music. 

Rem. 28.— An infinitive or a participle is often 
used absolutely ; that is, with a general rather than 
a definite relation. 

Examples. — " Marley was dead to begin with ; " " To 
confess the truth, I was in fault ; " "To be contents his 
natural desire ; " Generally speaking, this is true ; Granting 
this, what more can be said ? (not, Granting this, what more 
can we say ? — where granting relates to we). 

Rem. 29. — The preposition to is generally omitted after 
the words bid, dare, etc. (139, 2) ; and frequently after 
better, best, rather, but, than : Let me ( ) go ; Bid him 
stay ; "I'd rather ( ) be a dog and ( ) bay the moon ; " 
" Madam, you were best ( ) consider ; " " She cannot 
choose but ( ) hate them ; " "I can ( ) do no more than 
( ) acknowledge it." These words are properly enough 
said to govern the infinitive. Bear in mind that "I had 
rather not," " You had better go," " I had rather be ex- 
cused," and the like, are, to say the least, quite as good 
English as "I would rather," etc., which some critics insist 
upon our using. 



PRINCIPLES OF SYNTAX. — ADVERB. 145 

Rem. 30. — The infinitive may limit almost any part of 
speech : Courage to fight ; I expect him to come ; Hard to 
do ; Not learned well enough to recite ; They ought to go ; 
He is about to go ; He was wiser than to do it. (" to 
forget her," and similar expressions sometimes given, are 
clearly elliptical, — " [I wish] to forget her.") 

Rem. 31. — It is sometimes said that "the subject of 
the infinitive is in the objective case"; as, I saw him go ; 
We asked John to stay. The matter is hardly worth noting 
in English syntax. 

PRIN. X. — Adverb. An adverb relates to the 
word which it modifies. 

Rem. 32. — An adverb may modify almost any 
part of speech, a phrase, or even a whole expression. 

Examples. — " Even Scrooge was not so cut up by it ; " 
" And chiefly thou, O Spirit, instruct me ; " " Very good 
friends ; " He does well ; " He read very cautiously ; " " He 
lived hard by a little brook ; " " Just beyond the river ; " 
" Even in our ashes live their wonted fires ; " " Truly, 
that were a dreadful mistake." 

The word to which an adverb relates is often understood : 
"Up, up, Glentarkin!" "I'll hence to London; " "She up 
with her fist and hit him." 

Rem. 33. — An adverb is frequently used inde- 
pendently ; as, " Will you do it? " "Yes ; " so, also, 
yea, no, nay, amen, and others. 

Rem. 34. — Most grammarians teach that conjunctive 
adverbs modify two verbs ; as, " He worked while he staid" 
That this is an error, a little reflection will show. While he 



146 SYNTAX. 

staid shows how long he worked, but nothing tells how long 
he staid, or modifies staid in any way. 

Rem. 35. — Two negatives, unless emphatic, are equiv- 
alent to an affirmative ; I will not do nothing =^ I will do 
something ; " Himself not wwknown." 

Rem. 30. — For the use of an adjective instead of an 
adverb, see 169, b, and Rem. 16, a. The use of adverbs as 
adjectives is not to be commended in such cases as : " The 
above rule ; " "The then ministry ; " " Thine often infirmities." 
Some words have the same form both as adjective and ad- 
verb ; as, adj.: "An only son;" "He only was there;" 
" He studied Greek only ; " — adv. : He only read it (he did 
not study it) ; They went only for pleasure. It is often 
difficult to decide on which side of the line such words fall : 
note carefully whether they indicate the quality of the object 
(adj.), or the manner of the action (adv.). 

Rem. 37. — When an adverb is plainly used as a noun, 
let it be treated as such : " An everlasting now ; " " Let 
your yea he yea." The so-called adverbial phrases may be 
disposed of in the same way : by far, in vain, on high, for 
aye, for once, " For ever and a day." 

Such expressions as from thence, from hence, and the like, 
are incorrect, since the adverb alone includes the meaning 
from ; expressions like from here, to there, " to where we 
stood," are less objectionable. 

Rem.. 38. — Adverbs should be so placed that there 
can be no doubt as to the words which they modify. He 
only began, may mean He alone began, or He merely began. 

An adverb should never, in prose, come between to and 
the infinitive ; as, " to fondly hope." Let it be " to hope 
fondly," or " fondly to hope." 



PRINCIPLES OF SYNTAX. — PREPOSITION. 147 

PRIX. XI. — Preposition. A preposition shows 
the relation between its object and the word which 
the adjunct limits. 

The limited word is called the antecedent term 
of relation; the object, the subsequent term; as, I 
went (antec.) in the boat (subseq.). 

Two questions will generally show the beginner these two 
terms : (1) put what after the preposition (I went in what?}, 
the answer will give the subsequent term ; (2) put what 
before the preposition ( What in the boat ?), the answer will 
give the antecedent term. 

Hem. 39. — (#) The antecedent term is frequently- 
omitted ; as, " To be contents his natural desire ; " I?i short, 
it is an error ; For him to speak thus was ... In this 
case the preposition may be said to be used absolutely. 

(£) The preposition itself is often omitted (see Rem. 4 ; 
6> a, d; 7). 

(c) The object is often omitted, giving rise to an abbre- 
viated expression : — 

(1) When the adjunct, if expressed, would have modified 
a verb, the preposition becomes an adverb ; as, He passed 
by [us] ; He wandered on, went up, went through. 

(2) When the adjunct, if expressed, would have limited 
a substantive, it would seem best to call the preposition an 
adjective, and explain its origin ; as, " Echo the mountains 
round;" " The waves behind rush on the waves before;'''' 
" From heaven above to earth below." Some make such 
words the remnants of a clause, and supply accordingly, — 
" From heaven [which is] above" etc.; others consider them 
prepositions and supply the proper object, — "From heaven 
above [us]." 



148 SYNTAX. 

Rem. 40. — For the preposition followed by an adjec- 
tive or an adverb, see 148, d, and Rem. 37. 

Of a complex preposition (151), the first one may be con- 
sidered as governing an adjunct and showing its relation to 
the antecedent term, while the second shows the relation 
between the object and the first ; " From beyond 'Jordan.'''' 
Or parse both as a single preposition. At any rate do not 
supply anything between them. 

For the preposition followed by an infinitive, see 139, 2, 
and Rem. 29. 

Rem. 41. — Great care should be exercised in the 
choice of prepositions to follow certain words in particular 
cases. Ex.: Adapted/*? (not for) ; analagous to (not with) ; 
different fro7u (not to). We differ from another in appear- 
ance, 7vith him in opinion, about a fact, upon a subject. 
There are few more important elements in composition than 
this nicety in the use of prepositions. (See Kerl's Comp, 
Gram., pp. 223-6.) 

The position of a preposition is usually before its object. 
Sometimes, however, the terms are transposed ; as, "All the 
world around" The preposition always follows that as an 
object ; as, " All the ills that flesh is heir to ; " "The best 
that I know of: " so, sometimes with which, but not ele- 
gantly ; as, "The things which you speak of" — better, The 
things of which you speak. The common rule that a prepo- 
sition should not end a sentence, is hardly worth making a 
note of : " Than fly to others that we know not of." — Shah. 

Care should be taken to place adjuncts near the words 
which they limit : " The wall was built by a mason one hun- 
dred feet high ; " The roof fell in, as he was walking, on 
his head ; " Wanted, — a young man to take charge of 
horses, of a religious turn of mind." 



PRINCIPLES OF SYNTAX. — CONJUNCTION. 1 49 

PKXltf . XII. — Conjunction. A conjunction con- 
nects words, phrases, clauses, or sentences. 

Rem. 42. — The parts connected are generally, though 
by no means always, in the same construction ; as, John 
and James were present ; They gave it to him and me ; He 
can go and do it; — but : He is there and can remain; 
they worked heartily and with effect. 

Rem. 43. — When correlatives (159) are used, the sec- 
ond is parsed as connective, and the first as correlative to it. 

Rem. 44. — Occasionally a connective merely unites a 
modifying element to its base ; as, " Her ceaseless flight, 
though devious, speaks her nature'; " " If heard aright it is 
the knell of my departed years ; " I took it as intended for 
a joke ; " He earned, and nobly, his reward ; " He left, and 
with reason. 

Rem. 45. — That, instead of connecting, often merely 
introduces a clause ; as, " That I have loved your daughter 
is most true : true that I have married her." Sometimes that 
seems to be little more than an expletive ; as, " When that 
the poor have cried." 

Rem. 46. — But and save are generally conjunc- 
tions (see 161, a). For but " restrictive/' see 
160, b. 

Examples. — No man hath ascended up to heaven but he that came 
down from heaven. — John 3 : 13. There was no stranger in the house 
save nve two. — 1 K. 3 : 8. See, also, John b : 46 ; Rev. 12 : iy ; 13 : 
jy ; Matt, iq : 11. Few can, save he and /. — Byron. No mortal man 
save he had e'er survived. — Scott. 

Let none but him who rules the thunder 
Attempt to part them twain asunder. — Swift. 

I do entreat you not a man depart, 
Save / alone, till Antony have spoke. — Shak. 



ISO SYNTAX. 

No Grecian prince but / 
Has power this bow to grant or to deny. — Pope. 

Such being the all but invariable usage with the pronoun, the noun 
must be disposed of in the same way, and the few cases like the following 
must be held exceptional : — 

And witness this, that every miss 

But me has got a beau. — Hood. 

The boy stood on the burning deck 
Whence all but him had fled. — Hemans. 

All desisted, all save him alone. — Wordsworth. 

Rem. 47. — As frequently connects words in ap- 
position or in the same case ; as, I assume it as a 
fact ; He was employed as a pi-inter. (See Rem. 
10, e ; ii, d.) 

Rem. 48. — As, than, frequently unites the two parts 
of a comparison, and there is generally an ellipsis in the con- 
nected clause : He is as old as I [am] ; She is taller than 
her sister [is] ; " My punishment is greater than [ ] I can 
bear." (Compare : It is as great as [ ] I can bear ; "No 
household .... but [ ] has one vacant chair." Such 
cases are rather against the pronoun as, — if as, then why 
not but and than f) — Than whom is hardly authorized 
English. 

Rem. 49. — Two or more connectives often come to- 
gether which may as well be disposed of as a compound 
conjunction (160) : And yet I doubt it; You must take as 
well as give ; I cannot think but that it is so (better, I can- 
not but think that it is so). For as though, what though, as 
if, etc., see 160. 

Rem. 50. — Connected parts having a common related 
part, should each be of a construction to take that part cor- 
rectly. Thus : " Such books have and will be read," should 



PUNCTUATION. 151 

be "have been and will be read," or "have been read and 
will be " , " She is taller but not so beautiful as her sister," 
correctly, "She is taller than her sister, but not so beautiful." 
So, such expressions as " He labored at, and improved by, 
the work," are not to be approved, — say " He labored at 
the work, and improved by it." 

PKO. XIII. — Interjection. An interjection 
has no grammatical relation. 

Such expressions as " Oh, for a lodge in some vast wilder- 
ness ! " are no exception, being clearly elliptical. 

(£) Punctuation. 

189. Punctuation treats of the use of the 
grammatical points. 

This subject is one of the most difficult in English Gram- 
mar, as it is one of the most important and neglected. Only 
its barest outline can here be given; for details, the student 
is referred to Wilson's admirable treatise, now everywhere 
the standard.* 

Some value, it is hoped, will be given to this outline by the fact that 
it has been carefully collated with that work, and that most of the ex- 
amples are taken from it. 

Let the student read thoroughly these principles and ex- 
amples ; then give the reasons for the punctuation as found 
in any well-printed book ; and, finally, have some pages 
copied without punctuation, insert the points, and compare 
with the original. No light study will be required to master 
the complexities of English punctuation. 

* A Treatise on English Punctuation. By John Wilson. Woolworth, 
Ainsworth, & Co., New York. 



ir2 SYNTAX. 

190. Of the four principal marks of punctuation, the 
comma denotes the shortest pause, the se??ticolon a longer 
pause, the colon one still longer, and the period a full stop. 
Other marks will be explained in the proper place. 

1. Comma. 
Principle I. — A comma is used to set off: — 

1. A word, phrase, or clause, — 

(a) Used independently, absolutely, or parenthetically. 

(b) Used as a general modifier (Rem. 32). 

2. (a) Clauses of complex or compound sentences (Prin. 

IV., b, c, or Prin. V.). 
(J?) Expressions out of their natural or usual order (Prin.. 

(£■) Expressions contrasted, or having a mutual relation 
(Prin. IV., b,g). 

Examples. 

1. (a) Independent. — Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. 

Yes, that is indeed so. 
Absolute. — Shame being lost, all virtue is lost. 

His conduct, generally speaking, is honorable. 
Parenthetic . — I will, however, make the attempt. 

The ship leaps, as it were, from wave to wave. 

It is mind, after all, that moves the world. 

This may, also, as well include the following, when paren- 
thetic or explanatory : — 

Adj. Ph. (177, 3). — The speaker, awkward in person, failed to com- 
mand respect. 

Part. Ph. (177, 4). — Cradled in a cabin, he rose to be President. 

Infin. Ph. (177, 2). — To confess the truth, I was greatly to blame. 

Explan.. CI. (101, b). — The schools, which were closed, had been 
very successful. 



PUNCTUATION. — COMMA. 1 5 3 

Appos. — He died, leaving an only daughter, Alice. 
Milton, the author of our greatest epic, was blind. 
(The poet Milton was blind. Milton the poet was blind. The let- 
ter jr. The line A B.) 
The bolls, or seed vessels, burst open, exposing the cotton. 

1. {b) Such, undoubtedly, is the characteristic of virtue. 
His work, in short, was quickly finished. 

Verily, verily, I say unto you. 

There is, therefore, little more to be done. 

2. (a) That you may do good, you must be good. 
Make men intelligent, and they become inventive. 
Fear not, while acting justly. 

Let us consider the question, that we may fully understand it. 
But : — You will reap as you sow. Let us live while we live. He 
traveled that he might regain his health. You may go if you will. 

2. {b) On a few slight occasions, they felt disposed to be merciful. 

By forgetfulness of injuries, we show ourselves superior to them. 

In youth, shun the temptations of youth. 

But : — To thee I pour my prayer. In power and wealth exult no 
more. 

2. (c) Contrasted. — Though deep, yet clear ; though gentle, yet not dull. 

Strong proofs, not a loud voice, produce conviction. 

Prudence, as well as courage, is necessary. 
Correlative. — He envied not, he never thought of, kings. 

Learning is the ally, not the adversary, of genius. 

You were paid to fight against, not to rail at, Alexander. 

But : — Elegant though powerful language. He had the strength as 
well as the courage of a lion. 

Prin. II. — A comma is used : — 

(a) To separate pairs of words. 

(P) To separate the parts of a series of more than two 
words or expressions in the same construction ; or of two 
when the connective is omitted. 

(c) Before a short quotation (Prin. XIV.) or other similar 
expression, or before that introducing one. 



154 SYNTAX. 

Examples. 

(a) Sink or swim, live or die, survive or perish, I give my hand and my 

heart to this vote. 

(b) The air, the earth, the water, teem with delighted existence (See 

Prin. III.). 
Honor, affluence, and pleasure seduce the heart. (In cases like this, 

some omit the comma before the conjunction, and some insert one 

before the verb.) 
The mind is that which knows, feels, and thinks. 
Lend, lend your wings ; I mount, I fly. 

(c) There is much in the proverb, " Without pains, no gains." * 

It is a sacred maxim, that a man is wretched in proportion to his 

vices. 
" One to-day," says Franklin, " is worth two to-morrows." 
But : — He said it was a fact. I told him that it would be so. 

Prin. III. —A comma is used when the omission 
or insertion of a word, phrase, or clause, breaks the 
connection ; or when the meaning might not other- 
wise be clear. 

Examples. 

And now abideth faith, hope, charity {i.e., faith [and] hope). 

Power reminds you of weakness; permanency, of change; life, of 

death. 
Btit : — Life is precarious, and death certain. The tradesman leaves 
his counter, the carman his wagon, the baker his basket. (See, also, 190.) 
Precaution, therefore, must be taken. 
(Precaution must therefore be taken.) 
There is, in this particular, no chance for error. 
The schools, which are all closed, were failures. 
Cultivate your mind, especially by habits of study. 

Prin. IV. — Exceptional, There is usually no 
comma, — 

(a) Between two words or expressions closely connected 
by and, or, but, etc. 

(J?) In short, close sentences. 



PUNCTUATION. 155 

(r) When the connection is rather close (£). 
(V) Between a subject and its verb. 
(e) Before a restrictive phrase or clause. 
(/) When an appositive word is not parenthetic. 
(V) After a word, phrase, or clause, directly bearing on 
what immediately follows. 

Note. — In doubtful cases, the practice is rather to omit 
than to insert. 

Examples. 

{a) Mercy and truth are met together. 

We bumped and scraped and rolled very unpleasantly. 

But : — Speak, or perish. — Some write, also, — They are neither of, 
nor in, the world. 

(3) Use time as if you knew its value. 
Live well that you may die well. 
Or — Live well, that you may die well. 

(c) I knew the facts even when I wrote. 
Probably there are few who accomplish so much. 
(There are few, probably, who accomplish so much.) 
I shall go too. (I, too, shall go.) 

A beautiful white horse. 

At Thompson the hatter's store. (At Thompson's, the hatter.) 

(d) Sensitiveness to the approbation of virtuous men is laudable. 

(See, e.g., Prin. I., II., III.,- IV., of Syntax. Some would insert 
commas in such cases, especially in Prin. IV., and in the examples 
under Prin. V.) 
Note the following : — 

The man of talent merely, is strong for enterprise. 

The air, the earth, the water, teem with delighted existence. 

The air, the earth, and the water teem, etc. 

Whatever is, is right. 

(e) Snow which falls in spring melts rapidly. 

(Snow, which crystallizes in six-sided prisms, is an example.) 
Men ignorant of the Bible often disbelieve it. 
(The men, ignorant of the subject, could not understand.) 
Every teacher must love a boy who is attractive and docile. 
(Every teacher must love the boy, who is, etc.) 



156 SYNTAX. 

See, also, the principles of syntax referred to (d). 

(f) Milton the poet was blind. 

The emperor Antonius wrote on morals. 

(Newton, the great mathematician, was very modest.) 

(g) This might include the three' preceding cases. 



2. The Semicolon. 
Priii. V. — A semicolon is used : — 

(#) When a longer pause is required to separate parts, 
any of which already have the comma. 

(£) To separate members of a sentence, or slightly con- 
nected propositions. 

(7) To set off phrases, clauses, and sometimes other 
parts, having a common dependence. 

(</) Before as, namely, that is, to wit, thus, i.e., viz., and 
the like, introducing an example or enumeration ; and be- 
fore for, but, and the like, denoting cause, influence, conces- 
sion, contrast, or explanation. 

(V) In general, where a longer pause than the comma, 
but not the colon or the period, is required. 

(f) Exceptional. — In some of the above cases, when 
the sentence or the pause is short, the comma is often to be 
preferred. 

Examples. 

(a) Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, 
Is our destined end or way; 
But to act, that each to-morrow 

Find us farther than to-day. — Longfellow. 

(b) The epic poem recites the exploits of a hero ; tragedy represents 
a disastrous event ; comedy ridicules the vices and follies of mankind ; 
pastoral poetry describes rural life ; and elegy displays the fender emo- 
tions of the heart. 

(c) If we think of glory in the field ; of wisdom in the cabinet ; of the 
purest patriotism ; of the highest integrity, public and private ; of morals 



PUNCTUATION. — COLON. 1 5 7 

without a stain ; of religious feelings without intolerance and without ex- 
travagance, — the august figure of Washington presents itself as the per- 
sonation of all these ideas. (Sometimes a dash preceded by a comma or 
a semicolon is used between the common part and the rest, as in the 
foregoing example (See Prin. XL, b). 

(d) The operations of the mind are three ; namely, 1. Simple appre- 
hension; 2. Judgment; 3. Discourse or reasoning. 

Economy is no disgrace; for it is better to live on a little than to out- 
live a great deal. 

Men must have recreation ; and literature and art furnish that which 
is most pure, innocent, and refining. 

(_/") The pride of wealth is contemptible, the pride of learning is piti- 
able, the pride of dignity is ridiculous, and the pride of bigotry is insup- 
portable. 

3. The Colon. 
Prin. VI. — The colon is used : — 

(a) After a sentence complete in itself, followed by an 
additional or explanatory remark. 

(b) Between members (175) any of which already have 
the semicolon. 

(<r) Before a quotation or particulars formally introduced. 

(V) Exceptional. — See Prin. II., c. When the intro- 
ductory word is as, namely, that is, and the like, it may be 
preceded by a semicolon (or sometimes even by a comma 
and dash, or a comma) and followed by a comma (Prin. 
V., d). When the part following begins a new paragraph, 
the colon and dash are generally used {e.g., 131, 158, 
175, etc.). 

(e) Before Arabic numerals of chapter and verse ; as, 
Luke 12: 15. 

Examples. 

(a) Study to acquire a habit of thinking : nothing is more important. 
(But see Prin. V., d.) 

(b) Ayrshire was Cochrane's object: but the coast of Ayrshire was 
now guarded by English frigates ; and the adventurers were under the 
necessity of running up the estuary of the Clyde to Greenock. 



158 SYNTAX. 

(c) The words, literally translated, were these: " The winds roared 
and the rains fell, when the poor white man, faint and weary, came and 
sat under our tree." 

Our own theory may be briefly stated, thus : The facts or materials 
with which psychology has to do are derived from two sources — con- 
sciousness and sense-perception. 



4. The Period. 
Prin. VII. — A period is used: — 

(a) At the end of every sentence or its equivalent which 
is not interrogative or exclamatory (Exc, Prin. VI., a). 

So, also, after entirely disconnected parts of a series in- 
troduced by a colon or the like (Prin. VI., <:), as in 132, 
29, Prin. VI., etc. 

(<£) After abbreviations and Roman numerals. 

In this case, the period must be followed by the same 
pause that would follow the whole word if written (except 
citations ; as, Jn. IV. 3) . 

Examples. 

(a) The life is long that answers life's great end. 

English Literature. By the Rev. Stopford Brooke, M.A. New York : 
D. Appleton and Company. 

JEt. 19 -}- . Tender-eyed blonde. Long ringlets. Cameo pin. Gold 
pencil-case on a chain. Locket. Bracelet. Album. Autograph book. 
— Holmes. 

{b) Boston, Mass., 23 Mar., 1880. 

James VI., afterwards James I. of England. 

(Rare Ben Jonson. Gen. Tom Thumb. Four per cent bonds.) 

5. The Four Minor Points. 

Prin. VIII. — An interrogation point is put 

at the end of a question. 



PUNCTUATION.— EXCLAMATION POINT. 159 

(a) Several questions in the same sentence may have the 
point after each. 

(£) In parenthesis (?) it denotes doubt. 

Examples. 

Is psychology a science? Can there be a science of the human soul? 
and what are its principles and methods? 
You will be here to dinner? 

(a) Did you ever see a coal-mine? a lead-mine? an iron-mine? 
(3) Such are the facts (?) as he gives them. 

Prin. IX. — An exclamation point is used 
after expressions of emotion or passion. 

(#) It is sometimes repeated to denote emphasis. 
(d) In parenthesis (!) it denotes ridicule, contempt. 
((f) In scientific books it is sometimes used to indicate 
certainty. 

This point should be sparingly employed. . 

Examples. 

(a) Charge, Chester, charge! On, Stanley, on! 

Alas ! those happy days are gone. 

Alas for his poor family ! 

Oh ! you are wounded, my lord. 

Oh, bloodiest picture in the book of time ! 

Oh the anguish of such an hour ! 

Tremble, O man, who ever thou art 

(b) And that is all the argument (!) he gives us. 

(c) Orchis Flava, L. ! — Gray. 

Prin. X — A parenthesis incloses an expres- 
sion which has no connection in sense or construc- 
tion with the sentence in which it is inserted. 

"Parenthetical expressions" (Prin. I., 1, a) are different, 
— their omission would materially change the sense, and 



160 syntax; 

often the construction, while the omission of the parenthesis 
proper would not. 

Examples. 

Thou happy, happy elf, 

(But stop, first let me kiss away the tear!) 
Thou tiny image of myself, 

(My love, he's poking peas into his ear!) — Hood. 

Know, then, this truth (enough for man to know), 
Virtue alone is happiness below. — Pope. 

Note. — If a" point would be required were the paren- 
thesis omitted, the same point should follow the parenthesis. 
A mark of interrogation or exclamation, but rarely any other, 
may precede the last curve. When a whole sentence is in 
parenthesis, the sentence-point precedes the last curve. For 
"example, see 71, b ; p. 126 ; 174, a, b ; Rem. 7, p. 130. 

Priii. XL — A dash is employed : — 

(^) To denote a sudden break in the connection, or a 
short and significant suspension or turn. 

(J?) Frequently before a conclusion (Prin. V., <r), or be- 
fore a series (Prin. V., d), — usually with a comma (or 
semicolon) in either case. 

(<:) Sometimes instead of commas with parenthetic appos- 
itives ; or instead of a parenthesis when the inclosed parts 
coalesce readily with the rest of the sentence. 

(</) With a period between title and subject-matter, or 
between subject-matter and author. 

(e) To denote omission of letters or figures. 

(/") As the last pause after. the address, before the body 
of a letter. 

The dash is one of the most valuable and worst abused 
of our pauses. Beginners should be cautious in its use. 



PUNCTUATION. — APOSTROPHE, ETC. l6l 



Examples, 

(a) He saw — whatever thou hast seen, 

Enjoyed — but his delights are fled. — Montgomery. 

The pulse fluttered — stopped — went on — throbbed — stopped again 
— moved — stopped. — Shall I go on? — No. — Sterne. 

(b) To pull down the false and to build up the true, and to uphold 
what there is of true in the old, — let this be our endeavor. 

One sees countless objects which the other entirely overlooks, — 
houses, trees, lawns, lines of beauty. 

(c) 'Twas my cradle in childhood, — that ocean so grand. 

But does the mind always know — i.e., remember — with equal cer- 
tainty? 

(d) Authorities. — For Edward I. as before. For Edward II. we 
have three important cotemporaries. — J. R. Green. 

(e) .To Mrs. C e H y. — Jn. V. 1-4. — 1878-9. 

(/) Boston, Mass., Apr. 15, 1880. 

C. J. Jones, Esq., 

Dear Sir : — In answer to your inquiry . 

(This is only one of the numberless forms employed by correct writers.) 



6. Other Points and Marks. 

Prill. XII. — An apostrophe is used : — 

(<?) To denote the omission of a letter or letters ; as, 
I'm, 'tis, tho', (word's, Ang. Sax. wordes). 
(b) As the possessive sign (90, no). 
(V) To indicate the plural of characters, etc. (85,^*). 

Prill. XIII. — A hyphen is employed to separate syl- 
lables at the end of a line (p. 22), or to separate parts of a 
compound word (45, b). 

Prill. XIV. — Quotation marks inclose a direct (Eng- 
lish) quotation. (See, e.g., almost any preceding page.) 



1 62 SYNTAX. 

(a) Titles of works are often put in quotations (29, b, 4). 

(/>) A quotation within another should be indicated by- 
single instead of double marks ; as, Trench well says, " What 
a lesson the word ' diligence ' contains." 

(7) When paragraphs are quoted, the marks are put at 
the beginning of each, but at the end of only the last. 

Prin. XV. — Brackets have much the same use as the 
parenthesis, but usually inclose something inserted in a quo- 
tation, or particularly explanatory. 

There are [those] who deaf to mad ambition's call. 

Shylock. [Aside]. These be Christian husbands. 
Well, I'll set you forth. [Exeunt. 

Prill. XVI. — Reference marks direct the reader's 
attention to notes in the margin or elsewhere. 

The most common are, — the star, or asterisk (*), the 
dagger, or obelisk (f), the double dagger (J), the section (§), 
parallels (||), the paragraph (^[), and superiors, i.e., small 
figures or letters a little above the line. 

Prill. XVII. — A caret is used only in writing, to show 
where something accidentally left out is to be inserted. 

Copy and recopy so long as one of these " blunder-points " remains. 

Other marks are occasionally employed, — under- 
score (29), accents, diaeresis (p. 23, 3), cedilla, 
tilde, index, asterism, brace, leaders. For these 
see Webster, p. 1696, or Worcester, p. 1774. For 
signs used in correcting proof, see Webster, p. 1696 ; 
Worcester, p. 1775; or, much the best, Wilson's 
Treatise, pp. 303-321. 



TOPICAL REVIEW. 



IV. — SYNTAX. 
Part II. — Grammar of the Sentence. 

{A) Principles of Syntax. 

Government, Agreement, Relation, Ellipsis 
General Principles (Rules). 



- I. Nominative. 

Rem. I, 2. 
II. Possessive. 

Rem. 3. 

III. Objective. 

Rem. 4-9. 

IV. Same Case. 

1. Apposition. 

Rem. 10. 

2. Predication. 

Rem. 11. 
V. Double Case. 

Rem. 12, 13. 
VI. Adjective. 

Rem. 14-18. 



VII. Antecedent. 

Rem. 19-23. 

VIII. Verb. 

Rem. 24-26. 

IX. Infin., Part. 

Rem. 27-31. 

X. Adverb. 

Rem. 32-48. 

XI. Preposition. 

Rem. 39-41. 

XII. Conjunction. 

Rem. 42-50. 

XIII. Interjection. 



(B) Principles of Punctuation. 
General Principles (Rules). 



L-IV. 


Comma. 


XL 


Dash. 


V. 


Semicolon. 


XII. 


Apostrophe 


VI. 


Colon. 


XIII. 


Hyphen. 


VII. 


Period. 


XIV. 


Quotation. 


VIII. 


Interrogation. 


XV. 


Brackets. 


IX. 


Exclamation. - 


XVI. 


References. 


X. 


Parenthesis. 


XVII. 


Caret. 



1 64 PROSODY. 



V. PROSODY. 

191. Prosody treats of the principles peculiar 
to poetic language. 

192. All language is either prose or poetry. 

(a) Prose is ordinary language without rhythm 
or measure. 

(6) Poetry is an elevated style of language, 
usually imaginative, and having rhythm and meas- 
ure. The principal kinds of poetry are : — 

1. Epic — extended poetic narrative relating to heroic 
or mythological events, — called, also, heroic. Ex. : Milton's 
Paradise Lost. 

2. Dramatic — adapted to representation on the stage. 
There are two principal species : — 

(a) Tragedy — representing the deeper human passions, 
and usually having a fatal conclusion. Ex. : Shakespeare's 
Hamlet, Othello. 

(l>) Comedy — representing the lighter human passions 
and foibles, and usually having a pleasant conclusion. Ex. : 
Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice. 

Minor species of the drama are tragi-comedy, melo-drama, opera, 
burletta, farce. 

3. Didactic — designed to instruct rather than amuse. 
Ex. : Pope's Essay on Man. 

4. Lyric — adapted to music, or expressive of individual 
feeling. 



KINDS OF POETRY. 165 

Of lyrics, the ode is longer and more elaborate, as Dryden's St. 
Cecilia s Day ; the song (psalm, hymn) is short and of uniform meas- 
ure ; the ballad relates some striking or romantic incident. 

5. Pastoral — relating to rural affairs, — called, also, 
bucolic. 

An Eclogue is in the form of dialogue ; a georgic is a didactic poem 
on husbandry ; an idyl is short and descriptive, and may be any highly 
wrought relation of common affairs, as Tennyson's Idyls of the King. 

6. Elegiac — expressive of sorrow, lamentation. Ex. : 
Gray's Elegy ; Tennyson's hi Memoriam. 

An epitaph is a short elegy. 

7. Satirical — ridiculing human follies and foibles. Ex. : 
Butler's Hudibras. 

A Lampoon is a personal satire. 

8. Sonnet — a short poem, usually of fourteen lines. 
Ex. : Shakespeare's or Wordsworth's Sonnets. 

9. Epigram — a very short poem, ending in a witty, 
pungent, or delicate turn. 

193. A Verse is a line of poetry. 

Every verse of much length has usually two pauses, — 
(1) ccesural, within the line, (2) finals at the end of the 
line. These may or may not coincide with the grammatical 
pauses. 

Example. — Nature is but a name | for an effect | 

Whose cause is God. | He feeds the sacred flame ] 

By which the mighty process j is maintained. | — Co-wPer. 

194. A Stanza is a series of verses usually form- 
ing one of the minor divisions of a poem. 



l66 > PROSODY. 

195. Rhyme is a correspondence in sound be- 
tween the closing syllables of two or more verses. 

(#) A single rhyme has one rhyming syllable at the end 
of each line ; a double rhyme, two ; a triple rhyme, three. 

(ft) A couplet consists of two consecutive lines that rhyme; 
a triplet, of three. 

196. Blank verse is poetry that does not 
rhyme. 

197. Quantity is generally defined as the relative time 
required for the pronunciation of a syllable. In this sense, 
there is little use for the term in English prosody ; all ac- 
cented syllables (23) being considered long, and all unac- 
cented syllables short, though they may be uttered in the 

same time. Long syllables are marked ( ), short ones, ( w) ; 

as begin. (These marks have nothing to do with the sounds, 
but only with accents, or so-called "length," of the syllables.) 

198. A Foot is a group of syllables forming the 
measuring-unit of a verse. 

There are, in English, eight kinds of poetic feet, in two 
classes, — (1) four of two syllables each, and (2) four of 
three. They may be briefly described and illustrated thus : — 

In (1) the order of syllables is, — 

1. Iambus . . short, long . . w . begin. 

2. Trochee . . long, short . . \j . sitting. 

3. Spondee . . both long . . .all hail. 

4. Pyrrhic . . both short . . w w • (hap)plness. 

In (2) the order of syllables is, — 

5. Dactyl . . long, short, short \u \j happiness. 

6. Anapaest . . short, short, long \_y \y intervene. 

7. Amphibrach short, long, short ^ kj beginning. 

8. Tribrach . ■ . three short . . \j \j \j (in)teresting. 



POETIC FEET — METER. 167 

Examples. 

1. The cur I few tolls ! the knell | of part | mg day. 

2. See the | mighty j h5st ad | vancing. 

3. Of sense | whereby | they hear, | see, smell, J touch, taste. 

4. So spoke I the fiend | and with | neces | sity. 

5. Bird of the | wilderness, j Blithesome and | cumberless. 

6. And the sheen | of their spears | was like stars | on the sea. 

7. Collecting, j projecting, , Receding, and speeding. 

8. And thun j ders down impet j uoiis to ; the plain. 

199. Meter is the poetic measure of a verse or 
stanza. 

(a) This is indicated first by the kind of foot, as iambic, 
dactylic, etc.; second, by the number of feet in a verse. 
M onometer is a verse of one foot ; dimeter, of two ; trimeter, 
of three ; tetra7neter, of four ; pentameter, of five ; hexam- 
eter, of six ; heptameter, of seven. 

(&) Heroic verse, in which ordinary epic poetry is written, 
consists of iambic pentameters. Spenserian verse is the 
peculiar stanza in which Spenser wrote his Faery Queen, 
and consists of eight iambic pentameters, followed by a hex- 
ameter called an Alexandrine. 

(c) A large proportion of our sacred poetry is iambic, and 
arranged in four-line verses for singing. Long meter con- 
sists of tetrameters ; common meter, of tetrameters and trim- 
eters alternating ; short meter, of trimeters, except that the 
third line is a tetrameter. Hymns are also marked from the 
number of syllables in the verses composing the stanzas ; 
^as, 7s, 8s and 7s, 7s and 6s, 6s and 4s. 

200. Scanning is the dividing of a verse into 
its component feet. 

(a) Every piece of poetry has some standard foot in 
which it is mainly written ; thus, the standard of an epic is 



1 68 PROSODY. 

the iambus. One does not have to read far, however, in 
any epic, to find examples of every other kind occurring. 

Thus : — 

♦ 

And from | the i | vory port | the cher ] ubim. 
They to | their gras | sy couch, | these to | their nests. 
Ambig | iious and | with doub | le sense | deluding. 
And the | soft wings | of peace | covered | him round. 

(£) A line is sometimes called acatalectic when it has its 
full number of syllables ; catalectic, when it lacks its final 
syllable ; hypercatalectic, or a hypermeter, when it has one 
or two redundant syllables at the close ; a hemistich, when it 
is complete as far as it goes, but not full. 

(c) Thus accent and time (not quantity) come in as the 
main elements of the movement of English poetry. If the 
syllables of a foot are accented, the movement is heavy ; if 
unaccented, light. If the foot has two syllables, the move- 
ment is slower ; if three, more rapid. Any foot may replace 
any other, as seen above, the time, or beat, remaining the 
same. Even rests may occur, the time moving on un- 
changed ; as, — 

Break, *1 | break, *1 | break,*] 
On thy cold | gray crags, | O sea. 
Or, perhaps more accurately thus : — 

*1Work, | Iwork, | *1work, 
Till the brain | begins | to swim. 

(V) The older poets, notably Milton, frequently elide a 
final vowel before a word beginning with a vowel (syna- 
loepha) : — 

Or daring, first on me the' assault shall light. 
For we have also' our evening and our morn. 
To none communicable' in earth or heaven. 



POETIC FEET. — METER. 1 69 

Or perhaps it may be better said that the two vowels run 
together in pronunciation (synseresis) . This closely resem- 
bles the triplet in music, and will, perhaps, explain most 
examples of the trisyllabic foot in iambic measure; as, e.g. — 

And from their ivo'ry port the cherubim. 
Ambigu'ous and with double sense deluding. 

(The last line is an example of hypermeter.) 

(J) From all these considerations, it is plain that our cus- 
tomary style of scanning (turn turn | turn turn | turn turn) 
hardly reaches the beginnings of this interesting subject. 
The pronunciation should be perfectly natural and easy, and 
such (except slower and more measured) as would be given 
by any good reader. Every line and foot should be care- 
fully measured, and every syllable marked. Worked out in 
this way, the scansion of English verse becomes as valuable 
a class drill as that of Latin ; certainly it will prove of as 
much practical profit and pleasure to the life-long reader of 
English poetry. 



TOPICAL REVIEW. 



V. — PROSODY. 



Prose. 
Poetry. 

1. Epic. 

2. Dramatic. 

(a) Tragedy. 
(J?) Comedy. 
(V) Minor Species. 

3. Didactic. 

4. Lyric. 

Ode, Song, Ballad. 

5. Pastoral. 

Eclogue, Georgic, 
Idyl. 

6. Elegiac. 

Epitaph. 

7. Satirical. 

Lampoon. 

8. Sonnet. 

9. Epigram. 



Verse. 

Caesural Pause. 

Final Pause. 
Stanzr 
Rhyme. 

Single, Double, etc. 

Couplet, Triplet. 
Quantity. 

Long, S^iort. 

Accent. 
Foot. 

Two syllables. 
Iambus, etc. 

Three syllables. 
Dactyl, etc. 
Meter. 

Iambic, etc. 

Monometer, etc. 

Heroic Verse. 

Spenserian Verse. 
Scanning. 



FIGURES. 171 



VL FIGURES. 

201. A Figure, in grammar, is a deviation from 
the ordinary form, construction, or application of a 
word. There are four kinds, — figures of Orthog- 
raphy, of Etymology, of Syntax, and of Rhetoric. 

Though thus belonging to several of the main divisions of grammar, 
figures are, for convenience, introduced here together. 

i. Figures of Orthography. 

202. A Figure of Orthography is a devia- 
tion from the ordinary spelling of a word. 

1. Mimesis is a ludicrous imitation of errors in pronun- 
ciation ; as, " Well, zur, I'll not argify." 

2. Archaism is an ancient form of spelling ; as, holpen, 
yd ad. 

2. Figures of Etymology. 

203. A Figure of Etymology is a deviation 
from the ordinary form of a word. 

1. Aphaeresis is elision from the beginning of a word ; 
as 'gainst, 'neath. 

2. Syncope is elision from within a word ; as, o'er, 
morfd. 

3. Apocope is elision from the end of a word ; as, tho\ 
ten 0' tft clock. 

4. Prosthesis is the prefixing of a letter or syllable to a 
word ; as, a-down, a-cold. 



172 



FIGURES, 



5. Paragoge is the addition of a letter or syllable to a 
word ; as, withouten, deary. 

6. Synaeresis is the union of two syllables into one ; as, 
you'll, 'tis. 

7. Diaeresis is the separation of successive vowels into 
two syllables ; as, cooperate. 

8. Tmesis is the insertion of a word between parts of 
a compound ; as, to you ward. 

3. Figures of Syntax. 

204. A Figure of Syntax is a deviation from 
the ordinary construction of a word. 

1. Ellipsis is the omission of an element necessary to 
the construction ; as, go \_thou~] . 

2. Pleonasm is a redundancy of words ; as, " Now 
Harry's flesh it fell away." 

3. Syllepsis is a construction according to a figurative 
meaning ; as, The moon sheds her light ; The city all ran 
to see. 

4. Enallage is the use of one part of speech, or one 
form of inflection, for another ; as, They fell successive\\y~\ 
and successive rise ; His heart was broke. 

5. Hyperbaton is an inversion of words ; as, " He wan- 
ders earth around." 

6. Zeugma is the reference of a word to a more distant 
word, while primarily relating to a nearer one ; as, " Nor 
this a good, nor that a bad we call." 

4. Figures of Rhetoric. 

205. A Figure of Rhetoric is a deviation 
from the ordinary application of a word, — called, 
also, a trope. 



FIGURES OF RHETORIC. ^3 

1. A Simile is an expressed comparison ; as, " He shall 
be like a tree planted by the rivers of water." 

2. A Metaphor is an implied comparison; as, "The 
Lord is my rock." 

(a) An Allegory is a continued metaphor. Ex. : Pil- 
grim's Progress ; Ps. 80. 

(b) A Parable is a short allegory conveying religious 
instruction. Ex.: Lu. 15 : H-32. 

(c) A Fable is a brief story with a pointed moral. Ex. : 
JEsofs Fables. 

3. Personification represents inanimate objects as en- 
dued with life and action ; as, " The sea saw it and fled." 

4. Metonymy is a change of names which have some 
relation. Ex. : Gray hairs for old age ; the chair for the 
chairman ; the table for its contents ; dizzy heights ; weary 
way. 

5. Synechdoche puts a part for the whole, or the whole 
for a part ; as, roofiox house, sail for ship ; " Ten thousand 
are at my right hand " — a great number. 

6. Antithesis is contrast ; as, " Though poor, luxurious ; 
though submissive, vain." 

7. Irony is the sarcastic utterance of the reverse of what 
is meant ; as, " Cry aloud, for he is a god." — 1 K. 18 : 27. 

8. Paraleipsis is a pretended omission of what is really 
mentioned ; as, " To say nothing of its absurdity, the thing 
will prove practically impossible." 

9. Hyperbole is extravagant exaggeration ; as, " Rivers 
of water run down my eyes ; " "I am cold as ice ; " "tired 
to death." This is a figure unfortunately quite too common. 

10. Climax is a graduated rise in the force and impor- 
tance of a series of expressions. Ex. : Rom. 8 : 35 ; 2 Pet. 
I : 5-7. Anticlimax is the reverse of climax. 

11. Interrogation is a question implying that its reverse 



j 74 FIGURES. 

declaration ts" true ; as, " Canst thou by searching find out 
God ? " 

12. Exclamation is an expression of strong emotion. 
Ex. : Rom. 1 1 : 33. 

1 3. Apostrophe is a sudden turning from the subject to 
A direct address. Ex. : Paradise Lost, III. 1-55. 

14. Vision is the representation of past or imaginary 
scenes as present to the senses. Ex. : Campbell's Lochiel. 

15. Euphemism is a softened expression for what might 
otherwise seem harsh ; as, " He is not the most truthful of 
men," for " He is a liar." 

16. Onomatopoeia is the imitation of the sense by the 
sound of the words. See Pope's inimitable example, Essay 
on Criticism, 365-372. 

17. Catachresis is a forced or extravagant use of a trope 
or word ; as, " Her voice was but the shadow of a sound." 



TOPICAL REVIEW. 



VI. — FIGURES. 



A Figure. 




Classes. 




I. Figures of Orthography. 


I. Mimesis. 


| 2. Archaism. 


2. Figures of Etymology. 




I. Aphaeresis. 


5. Paragoge. 


2. Syncope. 


6. Synaeresis. 


3. Apocope. 


7. Diaeresis. 


4. Prosthesis. 


8. Tmesis. 


3. Figures of Syntax. 




I. Ellipsis. 


4. Enallage. 


2. Pleonasm. 


5. Hyperbaton. 


3. Syllepsis. 


6. Zeugma. 


4. Figures of Rhetoric. 




I. Simile. 


8. Paraleipsis. 


2. Metaphor. 


9. Hyperbole. 


(a) Allegory. 


10. Climax. 


(£) Parable. 


II. Interrogation. 


(J) Fable. 


12. Exclamation. 


3. Personification. 


13. Apostrophe. 


4. Metonymy. 


14. Vision. 


5. Synecdoche. 


15. Euphemism. 


6. Antithesis. 


16. Onomatopaeia. 


7. Irony. 


17. Catachresis. 



INDEX 



FORMS, RULES, AND REVIEWS. 



i. Forms. 

Phonic Analysis, 14, 21. 
Derivation, 56. 
Parsing, 104-106. 
Analysis, 119. 
Diagraming, 120. 



2. Principles (Rules). 

Syllabication, 22-24. 
Spelling, 26-29. 
Compound Words, 33, 34. 
Syntax, 1 26-151. 
Punctuation, 151. 



3. Topical Reviews. 



Orthoepy, 16. 
Orthography, 30. 
Etymology, — 

Derivation, 57. 

Noun, Pro., Adj., 77. 

Verb, 96. 



Etymology, — 

Adv., Prep., Conj., Inter., 107. 
Syntax, — 

Analysis, 124. 

Principles (Rules), 163. 
Prosody, 170. 
Figures, 175. 



INDEX. 

[The figures denote the ^age.] 



A, consonant, 17. 

A, intermediate, 20. 

A, preposition, 100. 

Absolute phrase, 115, 152. 

Abstract noun, 50, 52, 60, 66, 137. 

Accent, 15, 166, 168. 

Active verb, 82; voice, 83. 

Adjective, 73, 135; as noun, 76; 
as pronoun, 76; comparison, 76; 
not compared, 76; or adverb, no, 
136; phrase, 114, 152; pronoun, 
72; relates to adjective, 136; used 
absolutely, 136. 

Adjunct, 114; position of, 148. 

Adverb, 98, 145; as adjective or 
noun, 99, 146; classes, 98; inde- 
pendent, 99, 145; position, 146; 
with infinitive, 146. 

Adverbial clause, 113; object, 130; 
phrase, 99, 100, 146. 

Adversative conjunction, 101. 

Affix, 32. 

Agglutinative languages, 36. 

Agreement, 125; of pronoun, 139; 
of verb, 141. 

Alexandrian verse, 167. 

Allegory, 173. 

Alternative conjunction, 101. 

American languages, 36, 45. 

Amphibrach, 166. 



Analysis, 108, 117, 119. 

An, conjunction, 102; use of, 74. 

Anapaest, 166. 

Anglo-Saxon, 42 ; prefixes, 47, 

Antecedent, 68, 73, 139. 

Antepenult, 14. 

Antithesis, 173. 

Aphaeresis, 171. 

Apocope, 171. 

Apostrophe, figure, 174; sign, 66, 

67, 128, 161. 
Apposition, 132, 153, 155. 
Appositive phrase, 115. 
Appositives connected by as, 132, 

i34» *50. 
Arabic, 44. 
Archaism, 171. 
Article, 74; inserted, omitted, 137; 

position of, 138; repeated or not, 

138. 
Articulation, 8. 
Aryan languages, 38-40. 
As, connecting appositives, 132, 

134, 150; ellipsis after, 150; in 

comparisons, 150; relative, 70, 

150. 
Aspirates, 10, 
Asterisk, 162. 

Attribute, 109, no, 129, 134, 136. 
Auxiliary verbs, 80. 



178 



INDEX. 



Ballad, 165. 

Base of an element, 116. 
Blank verse, 166. 
Brackets, 162. 

But, adverb, 102; not a preposition, 
100, 102, 149; restrictive, 102. 

Csesural pause, 165. 

Capital letters, 18, 62. 

Caret, 162. 

Cardinal adjective, 74. 

Case, 66. 

Catachresis, 174. 

Causal conjunctions, 101. 

Causative verbs, 51, 83. 

Celtic languages, 39. 

Clause, 112; classes, 113. 

Climax, 173. 

Collective noun, 60; number of, 65, 

66, 141. 
Cognates, 11. 
Colon, 157. 
Comedy, 164. 
Comma, 152. 
Common adjective, 73 ; form of verb, 

87; gender, 63; meter, 167; noun, 

60, 137, — becomes proper, 61. 
Comparative degree, 75, 137; gram- 
mar, 35. 

Comparison, 59, 75, 137 ; as, than, 
connect in, 150; for emphasis, 76; 
of adjective, 75; of adverbs, 99; 
regular and irregular, 76. 

Complex nouns, 61, 67 ; phrase, 115 ; 
preposition, 99, 147; sentence, 
112, 114. 

Compound adjective, 73; conjunc- 
tion, 102, 150; element, 116; noun, 

61, 65; passive verb, 79, 130; per- 
sonal pronoun, 68; relative pro- 
noun, 71, — case of, 134, 135; 



sentence, 112, 114; subject, pred- 
cate, 109; word, 31, 32, 33-35. 

Compounds consolidated, 34; hy- 
phened, 34. 

Conjugation, 59, 92; strong, 80,93; 
weak, 80, 95. 

Conjunction, 101, 149. 

Conjunctive adverb, 98, 101, 145; 
clause, 113. 

Connective, 116, 119. 

Consonants, 17, 20; compound, 18. 

Coordinate clause, 113; connec- 
tives, 103; conjunction, 101, 103.. 

Copula, no. 

Copulative conjunction, 101; verb, 
no. 

Correlative conjunction, 101. 

Couplet, 166. 

Dactyl, 166. 

Danish, 42. 

Dative object, in, 128-130. 

Dash, 160. 

Declarative sentence, 112. 

Declension, 59, 68, 69, 70. 

Defective verb, 82. 

Definitive adjective, 73 ; position of, 
138. 

Degrees of comparison, 75. 

Demonstrative adjective, 75; pro- 
noun, 72. 

Dental, 10. 

Derivation, 31, 35, 56. 

Derivative word, 31, 35. 

Descriptive adjective, 73. 

Diacritical marks, 19. 

Diaeresis, mark, 23; figure, 172. 

Diagraming, 120. 
Didactic poetry, 164. 
Digraph, 18. 
Diminutives, 50, 52. 



INDEX. 



179 



Diphthong, 17 
Direct object, in 
Disjunctive conjunction, 101. 
Dissyllable, 14. 

Distributive adjective, 75, 140; pro- 
noun, 72. 
Double case, 134; comparatives, 

137- 
Dramatic poetry, 164. 

Eclogue, 165. 

Elegiac poetry, 165. 

Elegy, 165. 

Elementary sounds, 8; table of, 12. 

Elements of sentence, 115; classes, 
117. 

Ellipsis, 126. 

Emphatic form, 88. 

Enallage, 172. 

English language, 39; composition 
of, 40, 45 ; early specimens of, 45, 
46 ; history of, 40-46 ; suffixes, 

50. 

English Grammar, 7. 

Epic poetry, 164. 

Epigram, 165. 

Epitaph, 165. 

Etymology, 31; figures of, 171. 

Euphemism, 174. 

Exclamation, figure, 174; point, =59. 

Exclamatory sentence, 112. 

Explanatory clause, 71, 152. 

Fable, 173. 

Feminine gender, 62, 63. 
Figures, 171; classes, 171. 
Final pause, 163. 
Finite verb, 83. 
Foot, in poetry, 166. 
Form of verb, 80, 87. 
Forms (seepage 176). 



Frequentative verb, 51, 83. 
" From thence," 146. 
Future tenses, 85. 

Georgic, 165. 

Gender, 62; formation, 63. 

Germanic languages, 39. 

Government, 125. 

Grammar, 7^ 

Grammatical Subj., etc., in. 

Greek language, 39, 44; prefixes, 

49 ; suffixes, 53 ; root-words, 56. 
Guttural, 10. 

"Had rather," 144. 
Hamitic languages, 37. 
Hebrew, 38, 44. 
Heroic verse, 167. • 
Hexameter, 167. 
High-German, 39. 
" His work as a poet," 132. 
Hyperbaton, 172. 
Hyperbole, 173. 
Hyphen, 34, 161. 

/, consonant, 17. 

Iambus, 166. 

Idyl, 165. 

Illative conjunction, 101. 

Imperative mode, 85 ; person of, 87 ; 

sentence, 112. 
Impersonal verb, 83. 
Improper diphthong, 17. 
Incorporative languages, 36. 
Indefinite pronoun, 72; adjective, 

75- 
Independent adverb, 99; case, 126; 

element, 117, 126, 131, 145, 152; 

object, 131. 
Indian languages, 39. 
Indicative mode, 79, 84. 



i8o 



INDEX. 



Indirect object, in, 128-130. 

Indo-European languages, 38. 

Infinitive, 79,89,91; absolute, 144; 
as verbal noun, 143 ; limits what, 
145; phrase, 114, 152; relation of, 
143; subject of, 145. 

Inflection, 31, 59. 

Interjection, 103, 151. 

Interrogation, figure, 173; point, 
158. 

Interrogative form of verb, 89 ; pro- 
noun, 71, — antec. of, 139; sen- 
tence, 112. 

Intransitive verb, 82. 

Iranian languages, 39. 

Irregular comparison, 76; plurals, 
65 ; verb, 82. 

Irony, 173. 

" Is being built," 87. 

It, uses of, 69. 

Italics, 18. 

" Its being he/' 134. 

Labials, 10. 

Lampoon, 165. 

Language, 7. 

Languages, families of, 36; comp. 
table of, 40. 

" Last two," 138. 

Latin language, 39, 41, 44; pre- 
fixes, 47 ; suffixes, 51 ; root-words, 

55- 
Letter, 17. 
Linguals, 11. 
Liquids, 10. 

Logical Subj., etc., 111. 
Long meter, 167. 
Lyric poetry, 165. 

Maylay-Polynesian languages, 36. 
Marks, diacritical, 19; of accent, 
15; of reference, 162. 



Masculine gender, 62, 63. 

Material noun, 60, 66, 137. 

Member of sentence, 114. 

Metaphor, 173. 

Meter, 167. 

Metonymy, 173. 

Middle English, 43. 

Mimesis, 171. 

Mixed sentence, 112. 

Modal adverb, 98. 

Mode, 84. 

Modern English, 44. 

Modifiers, 116, 118; classes of, 117, 

118. 
Monosyllabic languages, 37. 
Monosyllable, 14. 
Multiplicative adjective, 74. 
Mutes, 11. 

Nasals, 10. 

Negative form of verb, 89. 
Neuter gender, 63; verb, 83. 
Nominative absolute, 126; case, 67, 

126; independent, 126. 
Norman-French, 42. 
Norse languages, 39. 
Noun, 60; classes, 60; properties 

of, 62. 
Number, 64-66, 140; of verb, 86, 

141. 
Numeral adjective, 74. 
Nude phrase, 115. 

O, consonant, 17. 

O long, cognate of, 17. 

(9, intermediate, 19. 

Object, in, 128, 147; after like, 
etc., 130; direct, indirect, 111, 
128-130; of passive verb, 129, 
130; of time, measure, etc., 130; 
position of, 131, 148; without a 
preposition, 130. 



INDEX. 



181 



Objective case, 68, 128; indepen- 
dent, 131. 
Objects, two, 128, 129. 
Ode, 165. 
Old English, 43. 
Onomatopoeia, 174. 
Or, adverb, 103. 
Ordinal adjective, 74. 
Orthoepy, 8. 
Orthography, 17; figures of, 171. 

Palatal, 10. 

Parable, 173. 

Paragoge, 172. 

Paragraph, 114. 

Paraleipsis, 173. 

Parenthesis, 159. 

Parenthetical expression, 152, 159. 

Parsing, 104, 117; form, 104-106. 

Participial adjective, 73 ; noun, 60 ; 
phrase, 115, 152. 

Participle, 79, 90, 91 ; as verbal 
noun, 143; relation, 143, 144; 
used absolutely, 144. 

Parts of speech, 59. 

Passive verb, 82, 83 ; form, 88 ; ob- 
ject of, 129, 130; voice, 84. 

Past tenses, 85. 

Pastoral poetry, 165. 

Pentameter, 167. 

Penult, 14. 

Period, 158. 

Persian, 39, 45. 

Person, 62, 63, 139 ; of attribute, 64 ; 
of verb, 86, 141. 

Personal pronoun, 68. 

Personification, 62, 173^ 

Philology, 35. 

Phonic analysis, 13, 21. 

Phrase, 114; as conjunction, 102; 
classes, 114. 



Pleonasm, 172. 

Plural, how formed, 64-66. 

Poetry, 164; species, 164. 

Polysyllable, 15. 

Positive degree, 75. 

Possessive case, 67, 12.7; and par- 
ticiple, 143; as subject or object, 
69, 127; how formed, 67; posi- 
tion of, 128; pronoun, 69, 127; 
sign, 6j t 128, 161. 

Potential mode, 84; a real infini- 
tive, 85. 

Predicate, 108, 109. 

Predication, 133. 

Prefix, 32. 

Prefixes, Anglo-Saxon, 47; Greek, 
49 ; Latin, 47. 

Preposition, 99, 147; as adjective, 
100, 147; as adverb, 147; choice 
of, 148; complex, 99, 148; omit- 
ted, 147; position of, 148; rela- 
tion of, 147. 

Present tenses, 85. 

Preterit, 79. 

Primary accent, 15. 

Primitive word, 31, 35. 

Principal clause, 113. 

Principal parts of verb, 79. 

Principles of syntax, 126. 

Progressive form of verb, 87. 

Pronominal adjective, 74. 

Pronoun, 68; agreement of, 139 j 
classes, 68; double case of, 134; 
parsing of, 141. 

Proper adjective, 73; diphthong, 
17; noun, 60, 62, 137, —becomes 
common, 61. 

Properties of words, 59, 62, 83. 

Proposition, in. 

Prose, 164. 

Prosody, 164. 



182 



INDEX. 



Prosthesis, 171. 
Punctuation, 151. 
Pyrrhic, 166. 

Quantity, 166. 
Quotation marks, 161. 

R, trilled, ax. 

Redundant verb, 82. 

Reference marks, 162. 

Reflexive verb, 83. 

Regular comparison, 76; verb, 81. 

Relation, 125. 

Relative adverb, 98, 135; clause, 

113; pronoun, 70, 101. 
Responsive pronoun, 72. 
Restrictive clause, 71, 155. 
Rhetoric, figure, 172. 
Rhyme, 166. 
Root of a word, 32. 
Root words, 54-56. 
Rules of syntax (see page 163). 

Same case, 131 ; by apposition, 132 ; 
by predication, 133. 

Save not a preposition, 100, 102, 
142, 149. 

Satirical poetry, 165. 

Scanning, 167. 

Secondary accent, 15. 

Semicolon, 156. 

Semi-Saxon, 43. 

Semitic languages, 38. 

Sentence, 108, 112; classes of, 112. 

Shall, will, use of, 85. 

Short meter, 167. 

Sibilants, 11. 

Simile, 173. 

Simple personal pronoun, 68; rela- 
tive pronoun, 70; sentence, 112; 
subj. pred., 109; word, 32. 



Slavonic languages, 39. 

Solemn style, 86. 

Song, 165. 

Sonnet, 165. 

Sounds, classification of, 8, 12; 
modified, 20; names of, 20; nat- 
ural order of, 13; number of, 13; 
of each letter, 19, 20; table of, 12, 
19; Worcester's " obscure," 21. 

South-African languages, 37. 

Spelling, 26; principles, 26-29. 

Spenserian verse, 167. 

Spondee, 166. 

Stanza, 165. 

Strong conjugation, 80, 93. 

Subject, 108, 109, in, 126, 129; 
adjunct does not affect, 143 ; ellip- 
tical, 141 ; position of, 127. 

Subjunctive mode, 84. 

Subordinate clause, 113; conjunc- 
tion, 101, 103. 

Sub-positive, 75. 

Substantive, 61; clause, 61, 113; 
phrase, 61, 115. 

Suffix, 32. 

Suffixes, English, 50; French and 
Latin, 51; Greek, 53. 

Superlative degree, 75, 137. 

Syllabication, 14, 15; modes of, 22; 
principles, 22. 

Syllable, 14; kinds of, 14; struc- 
ture of, 15. 

Syllepsis, 172. 

Synseresis, 172. 

Syncope, 171. 

Synecdoche, 173. 

Synopsis, 91, 92. 

Syntax, 108, '125; figures of, 172. 

Tense, 85 ; classes, 85, 86. 
Teutonic languages, 39. 



INDEX. 



183 



Than, ellipsis after, 150; in com- 
parisons, 150. 

M Than whom," 150. 

That, introducing, 102. 

The, adverb, 74, 99 ; with compara- 
tives, 136. 

There, expletive, 99. 

Tmesis, 172. 

To, before infinitive, 89, 100, 148; 
omitted, 128, 129, 130, 144. 

Tragedy, 164. 

Transitive verb, 82, 84, 131. 

Tribrach, 166. 

Triphthong, 17. 

Triplet, 166. 

Trisyllable, 14. 

Trochee, 166. 

"Two last," 138. 

Two negatives, 146. 

U, consonant, 17. 

Verb, 79 ; agreement of, 141 \ clas- 



sification, 80; compound, 79; 

conjugation of, 80, 93; elliptical, 

142; taking two objects, 128, 129. 
Verbal noun, 60, 90, 143 ; limited as 

verb, 143; the preceding, 144; 

with possessive, 143. 
Verse, 165. 
Vision, 174. 
Vocals, 10. 
Voice, 83. 
Vowel, 8, 17, 19. 

W, when vowel, 17. 

We, peculiarities of, 69. 

Weak conjugation, 80, 95. 

Will or shall, 85. 

Word, 14, 31, 32, 33, 35; classes of 

59; properties of, 59. 
Worth, 130. 

Y, when vowel, 17. 

Zeugma, 172. 



